Robin Lehner divulged Wednesday he had been dealing with a concussion. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender made the revelation to silence speculation that he wasn't injured and that his mental health and substance abuse issues had resurfaced instead.

"I did hear it," Lehner said Wednesday, referring to the speculation. "That's ... the only reason why I'm telling you guys that I had a concussion right now. It's the nature of society ... the stigma around mental health is insane.

"Everyone deals with it, I don't care what anyone says. Everyone deals with it in some form or another during their life. Right now, during COVID, a lot of people do. That's also why the stigma is really hard (to allow) for the progress of getting people better because people have to hide it or (other) people talk and say these things."

Lehner doesn't believe he deserves to have his injury absence called into question, considering how open he's been about his problems in the past.

"I think I should get the benefit of the doubt on it because I've been honest with it," he said. "If I (had) those issues again, which are not happening, I would be honest about it. It's unfortunate because a mental health problem is no different than a knee problem, or a shoulder problem, or something like that. It's treatable, except the stigma makes it harder for people that struggle with mental health stuff."

The veteran netminder added that while NHL clubs typically keep players' injuries close to the vest, he felt he needed to disclose his most recent ailment.

"That's why I'm honest with saying I had a concussion. Teams usually don't say those things, but I thought it was important to say that because I've heard those rumors that, 'Oh, maybe he's back at rehab or whatnot,' but it's what it is," he said.

The 29-year-old revealed in 2018 that he previously suffered from bipolar disorder and dealt with both alcohol and drug addiction.

Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer said Wednesday that Lehner is "real close" to returning to the lineup and is a game-time decision for the evening's contest against the San Jose Sharks, according to FOX 5 Vegas' Vince Sapienza.

Lehner has missed Vegas' last 17 games since suffering the injury in a win over the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 7, which was just his fifth game of the season.

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