Coburn, MacDonald out 4 weeks

Andrew MacDonald joins a long injury list for the Flyers. MacDonald and Coburn are out for four weeks. (Photo by Amy Irvin/38Photography)

The Flyers battle with injuries to the defense just went from bad to worse.

First, Braydon Coburn, who was possibly to return this week, will now be out for four weeks. Joining him is fellow defenseman Andrew MacDonald, who is also out for the next four weeks. Both have lower-body injuries.

The Flyers have not formally announced the roster moves that will be made for Saturday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings, but it appears one of the defensemen getting called up will be Mark Alt. A nameplate for Alt was found in the Flyers locker room at practice this morning.

Through Saturday, GM Ron Hextall said the plan is to call up a defenseman, likely Alt, and then examine trade options. Hextall said he would like a long-term solution without having to go into the minors. But the Flyers also have just $2 million in cap space to work with.

The Flyers also announced that Vincent Lecavalier could be ready for next Tuesday's game against the Kings after returning to practice on Friday. Zac Rinaldo, who left Wednesday night's game with an injury will miss at least one game on Saturday, but the Flyers are hopeful he can also return on Tuesday.

Kevin Durso is Managing Editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.