New Jersey Devils' Travis Zajac out for month according to GM Lou Lamoriello -NHL Update
Good news for the New Jersey Devils team as it was announced by General Manager Lou Lamoriello, that their young centre player, Travis Zajac, will be back on the ice within a week to practice, but it could take a month or even more for him to be ready for
a National Hockey League (NHL) game.
Lamoriello made the announcement on Thursday, February 9, 2012, after the player was cleared by the medical team to begin skating by next week.
"The good news is that it appears it has healed the way it should," Lamoriello told the media before their game against the St. Louis Blues at Prudential Center. "In saying that, because he's been off the ice a number of weeks and he hasn't done anything,
he has to get certain dimensions of his leg back and his foot. So he'll probably be skating in a little over a week and he probably will not be playing before a month."
Zajac tore his left Achilles’ tendon in the 2011 NHL offseason during workouts on August 18, and managed to participate in only eight 2011-2012 NHL regular season, but now the team is expecting a full recovery from the player, allowing him to be a part of
the remaining contests.
In those eight games, Zajac has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) along with a total plus-minus rating of -2.
Not taking any chances, the team and Zajac will be working with the medical staff to keep his recovery process ongoing and permanent.
"We're going to work closely with our trainer, physical therapist and the doctor," Lamoriello said.
Starting workouts is the only way the player will be able to gain strength in his legs in order to properly skate on the ice and ultimately be a part of the club during primetime games.
The 26-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was picked up by New Jersey Devils as the 20th overall draft pick during the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and has been with the team ever since.
This season will be his sixth with New Jersey and being a player that has registered 65 plus points in a single season, Devils hope to keep him on for many years to come.
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