Pronger to have surgery
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Pronger to have surgery
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Paul Holmgren said the MRI done on Chris Pronger's hand showed nothing.
The x-rays, done while his teammates were still on the ice after blocking a shot on Feb. 24 against the Islanders, was negative.
Yet Pronger was still experiencing pain, even after returning for three games.
He knew there was a deeper issue hidden under the tissue in his right hand. He was right.
Pronger knows his body best.
As a result of findings in a CT scan on Sunday - the last unturned stone in medicinal technology - doctors found a small fracture in his hand. Pronger will have surgery in Cleveland on Tuesday morning.
Dr. Tom Graham, a noted hand and wrist specialist, will perform the surgery.
Pronger is expected to miss 3-4 weeks of action, though Holmgren said that estimation is conservative.
Holmgren said he doesn't expect Pronger to miss any time in the playoffs, which will start on April 12 or 13.
“Right now we think three to four weeks, we feel we’re in the right frame of mind there," Holmgren said. "I’ll probably know a little bit more tomorrow on how things go, but based on the information we’re getting from the doctors and what they see and what they think is going to take place during the surgery, that timeframe is accurate."
The good news is that since it is a hand injury, and does not effect his lower body, Pronger will be able to maintain his skating shape. He is expected to be available to return skating as soon as next weekend.
The goal of the surgery is to not only promote healing, but to also protect to bone and prevent re-injury.
“I think he’ll be 100 percent," Holmgren said. "Obviously the reason they want to put the screw in is to make it more stable. Given the timeframe of recovery after the surgery, in three weeks, everybody thinks it’s going to be more stable than it ever was, and it takes away the risk of re-injuring it.”
In the mean time, Holmgren confirmed that the Flyers will call up defenseman Erik Gustafsson on Tuesday to act as the team's extra defenseman.
Gustafsson is not expected to play on Tuesday, but would be available in case of injury on Thursday in Atlanta or Friday in Dallas.
Holmgren decided against re-calling Danny Syvret, who has 10 points in the Phantoms' last 7 games and has considerable more NHL experience.
None the less, it's a tough break for Pronger, who has appeared in 50 games for the Flyers this season, recording four goals and 21 assists for 25 points. He is a plus-7 on the season and leads the Flyers in average time on ice per game (22:09). If the CT scan would have revealed the break earlier, he would have likely been able to return for the end of the season.
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4 weeks from tomorrow will have him back for game 1 of the first round— fig- Nice and rested for round one.— brad79
- He'll be well rested for the playoffs— shawnmac
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- Gone 2-3 months with nerve damage? LOL last time Tonka said that TSN reported a serious injury to Prongs with an extended recovery period...Yo Tonka! You buy some gold from your dealer?
- He doesn't need rest, he needs conditioning. He can get some of that off the ice, but it's not the same as on ice NHL conditioning.— Bateman
- He always sits out before playoffs, no different.— fman727
- Rest of team needs to get rid of that complacency.— P Even
- I guess O'Donnell doesn't get his rest.— krammar
the Flyer's problems run a little deeper than Chris Pronger being out...a return of the offense, and goalies that don't give up soft goals, WHAT, WE DON'T HAVE ONE OF THEM, MAYBE HOLMGREN CAN GET US ONE BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE, huh, it's already passed, and we gave up multiple draft picks for who??- It wouldn't be a Flyers season without a key injury
right before the playoffs.— phillydude - EVERYBODY PANIC!— Zeus2754
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- Maybe Giroux should berate Pronger for getting injured and not being able to help the team when they are struggling the most. Some people never learn.— Hexy4GM
