Fans reacted to Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk considering surgery for a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia, injuries he played through during the playoffs.If he chooses to have surgery, Tkachuk could miss the first two to three months of the 2025-26 NHL season, according to reports from ESPN's Greg Wyshynski."If I do get the surgery, it'll definitely be the first two or maybe three months if that's the case. But it's still undecided at this point," Tkachuk said Friday (as per ESPN).The news has sparked a wave of reactions online, with some fans questioning the timing and potential use of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) rules to exceed the salary cap. One critic bluntly posted,"Doubling down on LTIR scam. Cheaters cheat," suggesting that Matthew Tkachuk is exploiting the Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) rule to gain an unfair advantage. on X.Another fan wrote,"He better make his decision now. It’s selfish on his part if he’s gonna wait now, so a great time to start healing and recovering." on X.Here are some more fan reactions:"Ready or not for the first half of the season, Panthers will be in Playoff Position by his return.. don’t see Florida going anywhere soon" a fan ocommented."He’s gonna try to tough through October and November so he can have the surgery and then he will time his return for the playoffs so they can LTIR him and add at the deadline again, the final year they’ll be able to." another fan wrote. "He's gon be ready for January, and then punt on the season so the panthers can stash him on LTIR" a user wrote."We all know he will wait until the trade deadline so he can LTIR" another user wrote.Matthew Tkachuk was first sidelined in February while playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, with the injury initially labeled as a lower-body issue.The Panthers forward returned before the playoffs and led in postseason production with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) despite playing through his injuries for 23 playoff games.Analyst Shannon Skanes on Matthew Tkachuk's surgery updateOn The Hockey Guy podcast, Shannon Skanes noted that if Matthew Tkachuk undergoes the surgery, it would likely place him on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) at the start of the season.Skanes speculated that players often delay summer surgery in the hopes of avoiding it altogether.“I'm guessing they're hoping they won't need surgery. That's my guess. Players don't generally like going under the knife.” Skanes said.Skanes emphasized that the situation remains uncertain, and fans will know more in the coming weeks as the team approaches training camp.