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Reports: Chara could miss at least 4-6 weeks with knee injury

Boston Bruins v Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 18: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins yells to teammates as he skates against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on October 18, 2014 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jen Fuller/Getty Images)

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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.

ESPN’s Joe McDonald backs up Ward’s report:

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:

Not surprisingly, Chara’s teammates seem concerned about the Selke-caliber defenseman’s health:

The Boston media seemed downright sardonic following bad news about “The Big Z.”

This might be the most optimistic bit of insight following Ward’s grim update:

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.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins