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Flyers' Del Zotto 'out long term' with injury, Hextall says

Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto suffered an upper-body injury during Saturday's loss to the New Jersey Devils and will be out indefinitely.

Washington Capitals left wing Jason Chimera (25) falls to the ice against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Washington.
Washington Capitals left wing Jason Chimera (25) falls to the ice against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Washington.Read more( Nick Wass/ AP Photo )

Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto suffered an upper-body injury during Saturday's loss to the New Jersey Devils and will be out indefinitely.

"At this point it looks like he is going to be out long term, we don't know for sure yet," Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said after the 2-1 overtime defeat at the Wells Fargo Center.

When asked whether "long term" meant weeks or months, Hextall said: "I don't know yet. Probably weeks, for sure."

Del Zotto departed for good after suffering his injury with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in regulation. He appeared to hurt his left wrist after colliding with the Devils' Kyle Palmieri and Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth. It was difficult to tell whether his wrist hit the goalpost.

When asked whether that play caused the injury, Hextall said: "It's been an ongoing thing."

The Flyers later recalled defenseman Andrew MacDonald from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Flyers will play Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

Del Zotto has four goals and nine assists and has a minus-8 rating in 52 games.

"Well, he's taken on a real two-way role for us," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "He's been a good penalty-killer, he gets a chunk of every PK. With that development we get right back at it tomorrow, so we'll take a couple of hours and evaluate things and decide how we put the pairs together as we go into tomorrow's game."