Vancouver Canucks captain Roberto Luongo spoke to the media on Sunday for the first time since pulling himself off the ice on the team's road trip last week.
He said the injury is simply not where he wants it to be and there was no point in continuing to skate any further.
The netminder has been sidelined since November 22nd after suffering an injury in the first period during a victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then appeared to suffer a set back in recovery after experiencing pain just 20 minutes into practice on Wednesday.
''It wasn't feeling like it was supposed to be feeling, so I got off the ice,'' Luongo said on Sunday. ''I didn't want to make it worse and I'm going to stay off the ice until I'm 100 percent.''
Luongo did not travel with the team to Edmonton for Saturday's loss to the Oilers and has been working out since suffering the injury.
Last week, the 29-year-old stressed the importance of making a full recovery before returning to action and today stated that he thought his body was ready to get back in.
''We were taking the steps as they were planned. Up to that point, everything was feeling great,'' he said. ''I don't feel that I rushed it.''
Both Luongo and general manager Mike Gillis have downplayed the severity of the injury and ranges of when the goaltender might be back in the lineup - anywhere from four weeks to after the All-Star break.
"No new time frame," Gillis said Sunday. "We're approaching it week-to-week and we're going to be patient and make sure he's completely healthy."
Luongo says there is still no timeline for his return.
''Week-to-week? Tough to say,'' Luongo said. ''This is the first time I've dealt with a groin injury. Just when I thought I was ready to get back into it, my groin was telling me something else.
''I'm a competitor; I want to be in goal every day.''
Luongo is 11-5-2 with a 2.17 GAA and five shutouts this season.