Rumor: Red Wings hint at a big preseason debut tonight.

The Detroit Red Wings have had something of an awkward start to their training camp given the fact that a number of key figures on their roster have been largely absent from those activities.There are a variety of reasons as to why some of those players have been held out of the lineup, but thankfully it would now appear that fans won't have to wait much longer for things to return to a semblance of normalcy.

Although there has yet to be an official announcement on the part of the Red Wings, it would appear as though the team's captain is set to make his long awaited return to the lineup this evening.

News first broke when Red Wings insider Ansar Khan published the lineup the Red Wings had made available ahead of tonight's preseason clash against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a lineup that very clearly included the name of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. There's no question that the photographed shared by Khan is legitimate, but as far as we know Larkin has still not yet been medically cleared for full participation which is why we've tentatively listed this as a rumor.

You can see the photo for yourself:

Larkin has of course been out of the lineup since he suffered a relatively serious neck injury late last season when he was the victim of a nasty crosscheck from Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn. The injury has limited him in training camp, including during some inter-team scrimmages held by the Red Wings in the lead up to the preseason, but this appears to be an indication that he is finally healthy.

Update: Ansar Khan has provided another update, this time with the information coming directly from Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill. Blashill has confirmed that he is awaiting final clearance from the team's medical staff but, barring any complications, it would appear that the expectation is indeed that Larkin will play tonight against the Blue Jackets.

Assuming Larkin does play, he will be flanked by a pair of Red Wings first round draft picks with both Lucas Raymond and Filip Zadina expected to play alongside the captain. No doubt that will be more than enough to convince a number of fans to tune in to tonight's game, despite it not counting in the standings.