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Report: Boston’s Horton “not close” to returning

Nathan Horton

FILE - This June 29, 2010, file photo shows Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton during a news conference, in Boston. Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals with a severe concussion after he absorbed a blindside hit from Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome during Game 3 on Monday night, June 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye, File)

AP

A source has told CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty that Nathan Horton’s concussion recovery has stalled.

"[It’s] going to be a while,” the source said when asked about Horton’s return to action. “He’s not close right now.”

The Bruins forward suffered his second concussion in an eight-month span on Jan. 21 after a hit from Philly’s Tom Sestito -- the 26-year-old has now missed 11 games and didn’t travel with the Bruins on their current six-game, 11-day road trip. While Haggerty’s source says expectations are that Horton will return this year, doubts are being raised in light of recent events and the fact there are only 25 games left in the regular season.

It’s hard to gauge where the organization actually stands on Horton’s return. Bruins head coach Claude Julien spoke briefly about the situation on Tuesday, telling reporters that Horton hasn’t resumed skating since suffering a setback several weeks ago -- meanwhile, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has spoken publicly about the possibility of having to replace Horton at the deadline.

This, of course, begs the question: How strongly do the Bruins believe in Horton coming back?