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Flyers’ Meszaros to have back surgery, out 6-8 weeks

Washington Capitals v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 22: Andrej Meszaros #41 of the Philadelphia Flyers shoots during warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center on March 22, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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Via CSNPhilly.com, the Flyers announced today that defenseman Andrej Meszaros will have back surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

A small disc fragment in Meszaros’ lower back will be removed in the procedure that, based on the timeline provided by the club, will keep him out of the lineup until at least the beginning of May. That would mean he’ll miss the first round of the playoffs and possibly more.

Meszaros averages over 20 minutes a game and is third among Philadelphia blue-liners with 25 points, so this is a significant loss that’s coupled with the fact Chris Pronger is out for the season.

Fortunately for the Flyers, general manager Paul Holmgren was able to acquire defensemen Pavel Kubina and Nicklas Grossman prior to the trade deadline. Otherwise they’d be seriously thin on the back end heading into the postseason.

Of note, Kubina remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. And it would seem the club is being fairly tight-lipped about his status.

Kubina