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Jeff Carter will miss his highly-anticipated return to Philadelphia

Jeff Carter

Columbus Blue Jackets’ Jeff Carter watches teammates warm up during an NHL preseason hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Wednesday, Sept 21, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

AP

Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch notes that, with the Blue Jackets facing the Flyers on Saturday, Columbus C Jeff Carter will make the flight to Philadelphia this weekend.

He won’t have to check much luggage, though.

Still out with a broken foot, there’s no chance Carter will be suiting up against his old team -- the same team that signed him to an 11-year, $58-million deal in Nov. 2010, then traded him away eight months later.

“I haven’t even skated since it [the broken foot] happened,” said Carter, who suffered the injury Oct. 15 against Dallas. “I have a lot of good friends there, players and staff and it’ll be good to see them. I wish I was playing against them. But I’m not going to rush back and risk something just to play in Philadelphia.”

Carter’s had issues with his foot in the past (he broken the same bone last year), although this latest break is non-displaced and requires rest/time to heal. It’s cost him seven games already, a number that will grow to nine as he won’t play tonight against Toronto or Philly on the weekend.

In fact, there’s no real target date for Carter’s return at all.

“It’ll happen when the pain subsides, which could be this weekend, early next week … who knows?” Carter said. “It’s not the way I wanted to get this season started, that’s for sure.”

If you’re looking for a potential return date, the Jackets have a five-day break following the Flyers game and don’t get back into action until Thursday, Nov. 10 -- a home date against divisional rivals Chicago.