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Tuesday, October 24, 2000
LeClair likely to miss 6-8 weeks
SportsTicker
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PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers All-Star left wing
John LeClair will be sidelined six to eight weeks after
undergoing surgery on his ailing back Saturday.
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Drs. Robert Watkins and Kevin Foley performed the two-hour
microscopic diskectomy at USC University Hospital in Los
Angeles.
According to Watkins, he and Foley "removed a huge amount of
extruded disk material" that had been placing "a great deal of
pressure" on a nerve.
LeClair is expected to return to Philadelphia on Monday. In
approximately two weeks, he will return to Los Angeles to meet
with physical therapist Michael Schlink, who specializes in
trunk stabilization therapy, a program LeClair already has
begun.
The 31-year-old power forward has missed six games, and
the defending Atlantic Division champions have struggled.
Philadelphia's winless streak grew to seven games with a 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Saturday night.
The Flyers also had been without All-Star right wing Mark
Recchi, who was recuperating from a concussion
suffered in the season opener on Oct. 5. Recchi returned to the lineup Saturday.
An arbitrator awarded LeClair a $7 million contract for this
season, but the three-time 50-goal scorer can become an
unrestricted free agent on July 1.
LeClair led the team with 40 goals last season and added 37
assists while playing all 82 games for the fourth time in five
years. He is the only player in team history to score at least
40 goals in five straight seasons.
Over the last five seasons, LeClair has 235 goals and 213
assists. He was acquired from Montreal with defenseman Eric
Desjardins on February 9, 1995.
With Eric Lindros continually haunted by injuries, LeClair was
one of the leaders of the 1999-00 team that came within a win of
the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to eventual champion New
Jersey.
An imposing 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds, LeClair has 310 goals, 308
assists and 331 penalty minutes in 667 regular-season games.
Montreal took him in the second round of the 1987 draft.
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