Update: If TSN’s Aaron Ward is correct, Zdeno Chara will miss at least four-to-six weeks with a left knee injury that forced him out of Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
Bruins Zdeno Chara suspected left knee ligament injury.Expected out 4-6 weeks at which time they'll evaluate need for surgery or not. #TSN
— Aaron Ward (@NHL_AaronWard) October 24, 2014
ESPN’s Joe McDonald backs up Ward’s report:
CONFIRMED: Chara out 4-6 weeks with ligament damage to knee could face possible surgery.
— Joe McDonald (@JoeyMacHockey) October 24, 2014
Note that Ward reports that a decision will be made regarding whether surgery is needed in that four-to-six week period, so the full timeline of his injury could conceivably be even worse.
It’s important to note that the Bruins haven’t made this official, but with McDonald backing this up, it sounds like this is the reality of the situation for Boston.
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Many believe that the 37-year-old hurt himself while delivering this check on Islanders star John Tavares:
Again, the Bruins didn’t provide any details about Chara’s status, with head coach Claude Julien indicating that they’ll know more when the big blueliner visits a doctor, as CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty reports:
No update on Zdeno Chara injury 'until he sees the proper medical people' http://t.co/KRn2ELqnav pic.twitter.com/lVAhXAXtGk #BruinsTalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 24, 2014
Not surprisingly, Chara’s teammates seem concerned about the Selke-caliber defenseman’s health:
A number of his Bruins teammates called Zdeno Chara "an irreplaceable player" postgame, so that should give you an idea if injury is serious
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 24, 2014
The Boston media seemed downright sardonic following bad news about “The Big Z.”
#Bruins might need the 2 R2 picks they acquired for Boychuk to deal for a blueliner.
— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) October 24, 2014
This might be the most optimistic bit of insight following Ward’s grim update:
#Bruins play 11 games in 4 wks, 7 at home: @TOR, MIN, @BUF, OTT, FLA, EDM, NJ, @TOR, @MTL, CAR and STL. All things considered, not too bad
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 24, 2014
A lot would have to go right for Chara to return by the early end of that four-to-six week frame of time ... assuming that such an outlook is accurate in the first place, of course.
Perhaps Boston will provide more information regarding Chara’s status in the next day or so? The Bruins’ next game comes against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday.