Columbus Blue Jackets Kristian Huselius undergoes surgery, out for 4-6 months –NHL Injury Update
Columbus Blue Jackets veteran left winger, Kristian Huselius, suffered a torn right pectoral muscle while lifting weights in his native homeland, Sweden, on July 15. He underwent surgery to repair the torn muscle at the Ohio Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence
in Columbus, on Thursday, which was reported to have gone successfully.
Blue Jackets executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager, Scott Howson, made the announcement after Dr. Larry Watson, who was performing the surgery, had given the green signal.
"The surgery went very well", said Columbus GM Scott Howson. "The rehabilitation time for this type of injury is typically several months, and we expect Kristian to make a full recovery".
Although Huselius is expected to make a full recovery, he could miss the next four to six months due to the lengthy recovery process which is associated with this type of injury.
Howson realises that Huselius went through a tough time during the last season in which he was limited to playing 39 games, due to a couple of injuries that arose at different times.
“It was a frustrating season for a lot of players, and certainly Kristian. Now he’s got a longer road ahead of him”, Howson added.
Huselius had a high ankle sprain and hip injury which had him confined him to minimum performance and allowed him to register only 23 points (14 goals, 9 assists), unlike his regular 50-plus point seasons.
Drafted in the 1997 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft as the 47th overall by Florida Panthers, Huselius has played three consecutive seasons with Columbus now, and has no immediate plans of shifting anytime soon.
The 32-year-old veteran has also played with Calgary Flames, for three seasons in between the transition from Florida to Columbus for three seasons.
Until Huselius is able to return to the ice and score for Columbus, Blue Jackets are on the lookout for a temporary replacement.
"We're going to be active", Howson said. "We're going to do our best to find somebody who can help us get through this stretch of games without (Huselius) - however long that may be".
There are not many free agents in the dried out free agency market at the moment who could fill the shoes of Huselius, and even if there are, it would be highly unlikely of them to join a team on a fill-up basis.
Tags: