Larry Henry JrSean Couturier will play no further part in the Philadelphia Flyers season.
Couturier underwent back surgery on Friday and has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, the Flyers announced. The veteran center had been on injured reserve since late December and will now begin rehabilitation to be ready for the 2022-23 campaign.
“This wasn’t an issue that was bothering him coming into this year. I think he started having issues in the fall and tried to battle through,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Friday. “We tried to treat things non-surgically, a couple of epidurals to be exact, tried to resolve the issue that was there. You try to do your best to avoid back surgery if you can, but ultimately the doctor and Sean felt confident that the best way to resolve this going forward would be to have this surgical intervention.”
Couturier played in 29 games this season, registering six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. Captain Claude Giroux had been taking Couturier’s spot on the Flyers top offensive line and will now likely continue holding that spot for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old signed an eight-year, $62 million contract extension last offseason, and is just the latest player on the Flyers roster to suffer a lengthy injury. Kevin Hayes, Patrick Brown, Nate Thompson and Derick Brassard have all missed extensive time this season, as is defenseman Ryan Ellis, who was acquired in a trade last summer.
Couturier’s recovery is slated to be roughly three months, which would give him plenty of time to prepare for the Flyers preseason camp this summer.
The Flyers are back in action on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings in Michigan.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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