Sweden’s Olympic hockey team will head to the Winter Games without Golden Knights center William Karlsson, who was omitted from the roster announced Friday due to a lingering lower-body injury that has sidelined him since Nov. 8.

The 32-year-old Karlsson has been week-to-week with no return timetable, though coach Bruce Cassidy had expressed optimism that Karlsson would be back before the Olympics. Despite that possibility, Swedish selectors opted not to include him on the initial 25-man roster.

It marks the second consecutive year Karlsson misses best-on-best international competition. He was previously named to Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off but withdrew because of a lower-body injury.

Karlsson had posted back-to-back 50-point seasons, including a 30-goal campaign in 2023-24, but was limited to 29 points in 53 games last season. This year he has managed just seven points in 14 games before getting hurt.

Sweden’s depth down the middle likely factored into the decision, with Joel Eriksson Ek, Leo Carlsson, Elias Lindholm and Elias Pettersson all on the roster. Karlsson could still be added as an injury replacement later, and his playoff experience playing wing might broaden his utility, but for now he is not part of the plans.

The Golden Knights have six players confirmed for the Olympics: Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Mitch Marner for Canada; Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel for the United States; and Jonas Rondbjerg for Denmark. Additional Knights like Tomas Hertl (Czech Republic) and Akira Schmid (Switzerland) are expected to join them when their nations finalize rosters.