Suter making progress on long road to recovery

ST. PAUL --It's been nearly two months since Ryan Suter fractured his right ankle after going into the boards awkwardly in a game against the Dallas Stars. Now in a boot and using crutches, the Wild defenseman said he's moving forward.
"It's getting better. Still a few more weeks until I can put weight on it but it's getting better every day," said Suter, in town Tuesday for new Wild general manager Paul Fenton's introductory press conference.

For Suter, those few weeks can't go by fast enough.
"I can't wait," he said with a smile. "I can't wait to put some weight on this thing. I feel like once you start walking then it's kind of behind you and then everything will be fine. So a few more weeks for that and once that happens hopefully I'll be ready to go."

His ultimate objective is to make it back for the start of the 2018-19 season, back in tip-top shape. For once, he's able to combine an offseason workout regimen with family time.
"My upper body is getting kind of big from being on the crutches all day long, so hopefully I won't be too top-heavy," he joked. "I'm finding ways to keep busy, I'm spending time with my family which is nice, normally I'm always on the go so it's nice to spend some time with them."
Though he still isn't sure about the long-term recovery process and won't know for sure until he's able to lace up his skates again, Suter is increasingly optimistic.
"We all have to train hard this summer so that we're ready to go in the first game and I mean, all I can worry about is myself," Suter said. "The goal is to be back for game one and just have a good, hard summer workout program going and just kind of see where it goes from there."
Related:
- What they're saying about Paul Fenton - Suter, Parise face long offseason recoveries