Ah, well there’s always next year.
According to reports, Philadelphia Flyers top center Sean Couturier suffered a herniated disc in his back while doing off-ice training last week. He is reportedly going to miss a significant amount of time that could stretch through the entire season.
Last season, Couturier was limited to playing just 29 games due to a back injury that eventually required surgery and for him to cut his season extremely short. While this current injury is in the same area, it is undetermined if this is the exact same issue or a new one. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that team and player are seeking a second opinion to determine the nature of this injury. Apparently, Couturier began to notice an issue when he was experiencing some pain during a skate session a few days ago.
After initial reports became public, Broad Street Hockey reached out to the Flyers for comment. At the time of writing there has been no response from the team.
Last Monday, while the Flyers’ rookies were gearing up for their couple of showcase games, Couturier spoke with the media about his offseason of recovery.
“My intensity, when I started getting intense again and pushing myself, there were some setbacks here and there,” he said. “Nothing to worry, everything’s coming back to normal. It was longer than I thought. I’m a guy that usually wants to get back out there quicker than I should be. This one was a little more frustrating because I had to be patient and not push it too hard and make sure I was healing it the right way. Now it’s good, though, so I’m excited.”
Unfortunately, it looks like Couturier will have to be even more patient.
The Flyers will be starting full training camp on Wednesday and begin their preseason hosting the Boston Bruins on Sept. 24.
