Henrik Lundqvist reveals injury he battled most of the year

Goalies play through injuries, too.

That was the reminder from Henrik Lundqvist on Rangers breakup day Tuesday, when the franchise netminder revealed he had been playing through a knee injury suffered in late-October that was managed for the rest of the regular season.

“From the start of the season, it was fine. It felt good. Then got bumped into early on, late October or November,” Lundqvist said, noting that it was the same knee he hurt in the World Championships last spring after he joined Team Sweden following the Blueshirts’ second-round exit at the hands of the Senators.

“After that, it’s been there. Something I had to deal with … it’s not affecting my play, but it’s something that every day you have to look after. It’s not ideal, but I think it’s part of playing in this league, too. You play every day and you just have to make sure you do whatever is necessary to be ready to play. But now I see an opportunity to get the right treatments and feel 100 percent.”

Lundqvist, 36, said he had not yet decided if he was going back to the Worlds again, starting May 4 in Denmark. But it sure seemed unlikely.

“For me, it’s two things — it’s physically and mentally,” he said. “Physically, I’ve been dealing with a knee injury for a while here. It’s been under control, but it’s definitely something I need to address now. In the next couple days, MRI, make sure I do all the right things to be 100 percent when I start my training and preparation for next season. So that’s No. 1. Then mentally, it’s been a draining last couple of months. To go to Worlds, you need to be on top of your game mentally and physically, and you need to find that strength.

“Right now, I need to take some time to see if I have it. I’m going to wait for my meeting with the doctors to make sure I do all the right things here to practice the way I want to and prepare the way I want to.”

Forward Mats Zuccarello said he “had something done on my knee, something I’ve had for a while.” Although he didn’t elaborate on the injury, Zuccarello said he should be ready to start training in three-to-four weeks.

As for possibly getting traded this summer, with one more year on his deal carrying a cap hit of $4.5 million, the 30-year-old Zuccarello knew it was out of his hands.

“If I’m here next year or not, that’s not up to me. Hopefully I am,” he said. “I have one more year on my deal, and that’s the only thing I can control right now. But I feel good, I’m ready to go for next season.”

Linemates during the past two seasons, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider will now face each other as they play for their respective teams in the Worlds. Neither Zibanejad (Sweden) nor Kreider (U.S.) has played for his respective country since his teenage years.

“Mika is obviously an incredible player and a really good teammate, a really good friend,” Kreider said. “He probably gives me a little too much credit. You could put anyone with him and they’d be successful.”