The injury hits keep coming for Nathan Horton.
The Columbus Blue Jackets winger is out indefinitely with a back injury, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Horton and the Blue Jackets hope he can be ready for the beginning of the season, but there’s a chance Horton misses games early in the regular season.
This setback for Horton is the latest disappointment in his young CBJ career. The winger left the Boston Bruins last summer to sign a seven-year, $37.1 million contract, but he played in only 36 games last season. He missed a good chunk of games to begin the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and then missed the end of the season and playoffs with an abdominal injury
“It just hurts our team a little bit for (Horton) not to be 100 percent right now,” Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “My heart goes out to him. You see the guy. You’ve been around him. He’s always got a smile on his face. He’s always happy. His energy level is infectious. All he wants to do is go out and help the team.”
Horton scored just four goals in those 35 games last season. The former Florida Panther has struggled to find any sort of consistency, thanks in large part to issues stemming from a concussion suffered in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
