Steve Downie will be out for 7-10 days with an upper-body injury. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
UPDATE (4:29 p.m.): Flyers forward Vincent Lecavalier will return to the lineup tonight in Columbus.
Some news on the injury front surfaced just hours before puck drop of tonight's game for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Flyers GM Paul Holmgren announced that forward Steve Downie will be out for 7-10 days with an upper-body injury.
Downie practiced with the team this morning in Columbus and was the last player to leave the ice. According to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, Downie was working on puck handling and shooting prior to leaving the ice at the end of practice.
Downie has scored two goals and added 10 assists in 20 games with the Flyers. He was traded to the Flyers from the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 31. The deal sent Max Talbot to Colorado.
The Flyers will have to replace Downie in the lineup for the foreseeable future, at least for the next three games – tonight at Columbus, Monday vs. Minnesota and next Saturday at Edmonton.
There is a chance that Vincent Lecavalier, currently out with a displaced fracture in his back, could return ahead of schedule. He's progressed at practice in the past few days. It is more likely that Jay Rosehill will play tonight to fill the void, but a Monday return sounds very realistic for Lecavalier.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
