Martin Fehervary dealing with health issues ahead of season

The Washington Capitals season is 48 days away from turning 50. Whle players have been working out and ramping up their skating there was some grim news surrounding Martin Fehervary.

The defenseman was among the Slovak players chosen to represent his country in the upcoming Olympic qualifier in Bratislava but he might not be able to play as he told NHL.com's Nick Cotosnika at the NHL European Player Media Tour in Prague that he's dealing with a minor injuruy ahead of the season.

It could potentially hold him out of the lineup for Slovakia's chance at qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Via NHL.com's Tom Gulitti, Fehervary said:

"I would like to play (in the qualifier). I'm still a little bit dealing with some health issues, but we'll see how the thing's going. So far it looks good."

The Olympic qualifier is set to take place in the defensman's hometown from Aug. 29 to September 1. Marty has dealt with a week to week lower body injury and other issues last season that limited him to 66 games where he had a plus/minus rating of -7.

The injury though doesn't sound significant enough to miss training camp. And Fehervary still can make an impact when he's healthy. Informal skates are underway while training camp itself gets underway in mid September.

Fehervary added:

"Nothing major. I'm practicing, but it's before the season and we talked with the Caps and if I'm not going to be 100 percent, I shouldn't go. So we'll see."

Martin Fehervary is the only Caps player that was selected to play in the upcoming Olympic qualifying series for the upcoming games in Milano-Cortina. Though many players are hopeful they get to represent their respective countries in the upcoming 2026 Olympics.

That includes guys like John Carlson, Nic Dowd and T.J. Oshie if they're healthy enough. It includes the Great Eight as we all know. It includes Jakub Vrana who is now just simply trying to make the Caps lineup. Either way when you play in the Olympic games it's a badge of honor.

Fehervary understands that. So does the entire league as players and fans alike have wanted the NHL players to participate in the Olympic games for a long time. 2014 was the last time which is hard to believe at this point. But that's where we are and we're ready for change.