UPDATE (5:55 p.m.): The Bruins announced that defenseman Zdeno Chara has a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula but will not require surgery. Recovery time from the injury is approximately four weeks, the team said.
ORIGINAL STORY: If Zdeno Chara looked injured late in the season, it’s because he was.
Chara finished the season on a fractured ankle, according to Slovakian website Sport.sme.k. The ankle injury will keep the Boston Bruins captain from participating in the upcoming IIHF World Championship, according to the report.
The defenseman might have suffered the injury in a late-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He appeared to be in pain after blocking a David Booth shot April 4.
Here’s the play in question.
[tweet https://twitter.com/PeteBlackburn/status/585096495063572480 align=’center’]
Chara missed a late-season practice, but he still was able to play in the Bruins’ final three games, averaging 24:33 of ice time per game, more than a full minute higher than he averaged per game for the season.
Chara’s recovery is expected to be just two to four weeks, according to the report.
H/t to The Score, Stanley Cup of Chowder
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images