By Tom Keppeler, Knee1 Staff
Philadelphia Flyers center Keith Primeau will miss three weeks of action on the ice after suffering a partial tear, or sprain, of a ligament in his left knee on Monday.
Primeau tore the ligament after a tumble with Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Phillips in the third period of Monday's game. After falling into the boards feet-first, Primeau, the team's leading scorer, was helped off the ice. "I caught a rut at the same time a defenseman was pushing on my knee," Primeau told the Associated Press. "I felt my knee buckle, so I just let go. It wasn't the impact with the boards that caused the injury."
Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests of Primeau's knee revealed that he had a Grade-2 sprain, or a "partial tear." He will be fitted for a brace and will undergo a strength-training program to recoup the knee. Team doctors expect him to return to the ice in three weeks.
The injury comes during a rough season for the Flyers, who recently added forwards John LeClair and Simon Gagne. LeClair, sidelined with a back injury, missed more than half of the season. Gagne missed 12 games with a shoulder injury.
A sprain most often develops as the result of trauma, or a swift injury, to the ligaments. Ligaments connect bones to bones; in the knee, they connect the femur (thighbone) to the tibia (shinbone).
To read more about sprains, click here.
To join a discussion about ligament injuries, click here.
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