Posted: Thursday, December 1, 2011, 11:56 AM | 36 comments |
 

Pronger baffled by virus, starts knee rehab Friday
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Flyers captain Chris Pronger, who has missed 10 games thus far this season, underwent surgery on his left knee on Tuesday, and said he is still battling a virus. (YONG KIM / Staff Photographer)

Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who underwent surgery on his left knee on Tuesday, said he is still battling a mysterious virus.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Pronger said he was not over the virus and "I don't know what's going on."

The Flyers had said his virus symptoms were almost gone and that if he didn't have the knee problem, he may have been able to play Friday.

Pronger's surgery was his fifth in 16 months. He said most of the injuries were fluky, caused by getting hit with pucks, and implied he wasn't breaking down because of his age.

Pronger is 37. He said he will start his knee rehab on Friday.

The Flyers said he will sidelined for four weeks. Pronger said it could be three to six weeks.

If the Flyers were playing in the Stanley Cupplayoffs, Pronger said, he would not have had the surgery and would have played through the pain. He wants to be 100 percent for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

As for the virus, Pronger said he has been experiencing headaches and nausea like never before. He revealed he had passed a concussion test.

Pronger has missed 10 games thus far this season; he missed 32 regular-season games in 2010-11, which he called "the year from hell."

"It's a little disheartening," Pronger said of his latest surgery. "It sets you back" after "you start getting into a rhythm."

The 6-foot-6 captain said his knee has been bothering him since he went out with his Oct. 24 eye injury.

In July of 2010, Pronger had surgery on the other knee. In that instance, it took about nine weeks before he played in a game. He said that surgery was more extensive because there was "more damage" to the knee.

In the last two years, Pronger has missed 42 regular-season games; the Flyers have won just 21 of them.

* * *

Breakaways. The Flyers will play the Ducks in Anaheim Friday; it will be the first game for Bruce Boudreau as the Ducks' new coach. Boudreau, fired by Washington on Monday, has a career record of 201-88-40, a .672 winning percentage.....Jaromir Jagr, rebounding from a groin injury, is expected to return to the Flyers' lineup, while James van Riemsdyk is doubtful with an upper-body injury.....The Ducks swept the two-game series against the Flyers last season....The Ducks have killed 47 of 52 penalties (90.4 percent) in seven games at at the Honda Center.

* * *

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter: @BroadStBull.

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Posted by Sam Carchidi @ 11:56 AM  Permalink | 36 comments
36
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:02 PM, 12/01/2011
    Seems odd that they would put him under for knee surgery if he was in the midst of battling a mystery virus.
    — kgall
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:02 PM, 12/01/2011
    Doesn't seem odd to me; if he's going to miss time might as well take care of a minor knee cleanup. It's November - better to do this now than March.
    — n62
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:18 PM, 12/01/2011
    If any other organization in this city signed a guy with this many injuries. they would get destroyed by the fans and the media. I don't understand Flyers fans. Now lets make him Captain!!!
    — luv2hit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:26 PM, 12/01/2011
    Yeah, and if any other team had gone thirty-six years since winning a championship, no one would go to see them. But..the Eagles have gone fifty-one years since they won a championship--and never won a Super Bowl--and the stands are packed even when they suck...like now.
    — Philly Born
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:28 PM, 12/01/2011
    His virus sounds similar to Maclin's. Let's hope it doesn't take 5 months to recover from.
    — sjnative94
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:38 PM, 12/01/2011
    You know....in spite of what he says this is ALL related to his age....bone chips don't occur in young people without trauma.....a 37 yo athlete is like a 67 yo regular human being. Same with the virus. When you have 5 surgeries/injuries/anesthesias in a year and IF you were a 67 yo person, your immune system would be severely compromised and you wouldn't get over a virus very quickly. That's essentially what Pronger is and has gone through. Unfairly, we see these big, strong, virile professional athletes out there and on TV and think they are superhuman and indestructable. Well, there not. As evidenced by Pronger.
    — Mark1npt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:24 PM, 12/01/2011
    OK, Doc. Whatever you say. are you 67? do you have a medical degree?
    — shagsrc
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:38 PM, 12/01/2011
    You know....in spite of what he says this is ALL related to his age....bone chips don't occur in young people without trauma.....a 37 yo athlete is like a 67 yo regular human being. Same with the virus. When you have 5 surgeries/injuries/anesthesias in a year and IF you were a 67 yo person, your immune system would be severely compromised and you wouldn't get over a virus very quickly. That's essentially what Pronger is and has gone through. Unfairly, we see these big, strong, virile professional athletes out there and on TV and think they are superhuman and indestructable. Well, there not. As evidenced by Pronger.
    — Mark1npt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:43 PM, 12/01/2011
    A virus of the knee is called a...kneemonia !

    Credit goes to Chief Negotiator for this one !!

    Still funny after a few days...
    — mean mean pride,mean mean pride.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:10 PM, 12/01/2011
    OK, i have to ask. Is "mean mean pride, mean mean pride" the same person as "Wildwood Days"?
    — snipesmorris
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:49 AM, 12/02/2011
    No snipesmorris,different person,we haven't heard from
    "Wildwood Days" in awhile,he must be going to the game
    in Anaheim tonight,maybe he will post after the game.
    Did you get confused by the "credit goes to line"?
    I did not want to make it look like it was my work,trying to keep it real.
    Hail to the Chief for this one...kneemonia ha ha ha.

    P.S.Any resemblance is purely coincidental ;}

    Wave of the hand,have a nice day,hope we win tonight,
    lets go Flyers !!!
    — mean mean pride,mean mean pride.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:11 PM, 12/01/2011
    Has he actually been diagnosed with a virus, or is it an assumption? He mentioned headaches and nausea - possibly migraines if there's no actual virus present.
    — Phantoms9805
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:12 PM, 12/01/2011
    Would not at all be surprised if Pronger retires after this season.
    — shanehockey28
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:18 PM, 12/01/2011
    It sounds like the HBO 24/7 virus.
    — forphillyfromla
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:25 PM, 12/01/2011
    I would agree with you Mark1npt but even at 37 Pronger is in unbelieveable shape. He takes great care of his body sothathe can play at his best the last few injuries have been freek accidents Any way you look at this it is far better to happen now than in March. A healthy Pronger the second half of theseason is what we want so let him heal get rid of the Virus which by the waya few other NHL players has too. LETS GO FLYERS
    — srcdaddy1216


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About Sam Carchidi
Sam Carchidi is in his fourth year as the Flyers' beat reporter. He became an Inquirer staff writer in 1984 and covered mostly South Jersey high school sports and the Phillies before taking the Flyers beat.

Carchidi has written three books _ the nationally acclaimed Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story, which he co-authored with Scott Brown; Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports; and Standing Tall: The Kevin Everett Story, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He also contributed to a 1993 Inquirer book on the Phillies.

A lifelong South Jersey resident, Carchidi lives in Wenonah with his wife, JoAnn, and their two children, Sara and Sammy.

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