Pronger to undergo surgery, miss 4 to 6 weeks
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Pronger to undergo surgery, miss 4 to 6 weeks
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers announced that defenseman Chris Pronger will have foot surgery today and be sidelined for four to six weeks.
In that time frame, he would miss 11 to 17 games. He may be able to return in time for the All-Star Game on Jan. 30 in Raleigh, N.C.
Injured in Wednesday's 5-3 win in Montreal, Pronger, 36, will have surgery at 1 p.m. to repair a broken first metatarsal in his right foot, GM Paul Holmgren said. Steven Raikin will perform the surgery.
"He's a guy you don't want to be too long without, but these things are going to happen," said defenseman Sean O'Donnell, one of Pronger's closest friends. "We're going to need him in the spring and hopefully into June, so this may be a blessing in disguise to kind of give him some rest and let us pick up the slack for a little bit."
At today's practice, Andrej Meszaros was with Pronger's defensive partner, Matt Carle. The other pairings had O'Donnell with Oskars Bartulis, who has played just three games, and Braydon Coburn with Kimmo Timonen.
Bartulis has not played since Nov. 1.
Pronger seemed a cinch to make the all-star team, but he may not be ready for the contest. He is a six-time all-star.
The Flyers also announced that defenseman Matt Walker had successful hip surgery Thursday; he was placed on the LTIR list and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
Holmgren said the team had no plans to recall a defenseman, such as Danny Syvret, from the AHL Phantoms. The Flyers have enough cap space to recall a player, and they opened a roster spot by placing Pronger on the injured-reserve list.
While Bartulis will be added to the defense, the Flyers will also make changes on the PP. Mike Richards is expected to drop back to Pronger's point spot, and another forward will be added _ perhaps Nik Zherdev.
The Flyers host the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
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...with the depth they have on the back line the Flyers will be OK-not too many teams could get by with their highest paid player out though— petemagoop- how exactly was he injured? does anyone know?— Onlineps2beast
- They should be fine without him for now. Luckily during 2 of those weeks there will only be 3 games. I think Mez can handle 2nd pairing with Coby and Kimmo and Carle. I would almost rather see Syvret than Bartulis though.— FlyersFTW
Glad he didn't reinjure his knee. Bartulis makes me nervous when he has to play more than a few games in a row.
In years past, losing the #1 defenseman would have been a disaster. This team is so deep at every position - and not just depth, but quality depth - that for most of us, the first reaction is: we can handle this, and Pronger will be well-rested for the playoff run. Amazing.— 1980- Hey, what ever happened to the "I am oppressed" guy and his nonstop idiotic criticism of the Inquirer and DN writers?— 1980
- You would think that with technology and human ingenuity people would have been able to come up with a skate to withstand the impact of a puck. It is completely absurd to me that guys get broken feet by getting hit with the puck. Good thing Prongs was only our 5th best d man so far this season. He has been slow and out of position consistently— Nichols1088
- Better now than later - and as said in several of these posts, the team depth should enable them to withstand this temporary loss and provide Pronger rest going into crunch. Go Bartulis! The fans need you to play strong. Also, what Nichols1088 said: how can in this day and age not be a skate boot that protects well against puck hits?— CTL
- Skate Talk:
Like most athletic shoes, skates break in with your feet and conform to them. The bones are right against the fabric so it's almost puck on bone. You have to consider the weight added to the skate in order to protect the foot. A solid piece of rubber flying 90mph is alot of force. You need a cushioning fabric. I am surprised they just haven't made skates thicker.— SPro 
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Oh, little tommy again. Time for your other voices nimrod. Lets face it, losing Pronger is never a good thing, the fresh legs, at best a good rationalization. But, Homer has done a great job creating depth with Meszaros and O'Donnell. It is the regular season, and we need a HEALTHIER Pronger for the playoffs. I hope thi 6 week recovery allows his need to get back as close to 100% as is capable. Pronger says he has not played at 100% up to now. Anyway, I faith in Laviolette and this team, as they long ago proved they don't let injuries slow them down, or use it as an excuse for losing. Flyers will stay on top. Go Flyers!!
Hopefully it is fixed and not a lingering issue. This will be a chance to use a few different combinations and I hope they work as weel as what the Flyers have done so far. We see. Now beat the Steeeeenkeeeeng New York Rangers.- Hopefully it is fixed and not a lingering issue. This will be a chance to use a few different combinations and I hope they work as weel as what the Flyers have done so far. We see. Now beat the Steeeeenkeeeeng New York Rangers.
The delay in an announcement until today was really worrying me. It was starting to look like it might have been REALLY bad. Not that four to six weeks is good; it sure beats a season-ending injury. The Flyers are a pretty loaded team. No doubt this loss will hurt. I just don't think it's going to crush this team. Pronger will get some time off and the other D will get some experience.- Who cares... It is just the regular season.. The playoffs are all that counts... Rest him 8 weeks and help his knees... This team is sick with defensive depth.. Holmgren looks like a genius..— ByeByeButtman
