Have sling, will travel for Kings’ Johnson

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Defenseman Jack Johnson, who underwent surgery on his left shoulder last week to repair a torn labrum, was an interested spectator at the Kings’ game-day skate Monday morning in El Segundo.

Though he would have much preferred to be in uniform, he was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a sling to cradle his arm. He said he expects to start physical therapy pretty soon and that he’s ‘as good as I’m going to get for now,’ though he said he hopes to be back before the three-month recovery period that doctors told him is average for such injuries.

‘My foot healed quicker than they told me it would heal, so I’m hoping the shoulder will be the same case,’ he said, referring to a fractured right foot that kept him out of the final eight games last season.

He doesn’t have his full range of motion but said he’s progressing slowly every day. The procedure fixed some damage that had been in his shoulder for years.

‘In juniors and in college, stuff that,’ he said. ‘I’ll be better for it in the long run and better in three months, that’s the goal. I’ll pretty much have a clean slate again.’

-- Helene Elliott