Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson may be forced to begin the season on the IR as he continues to deal with a groin injury. Details on the injury have been fairly limited (at least we have more of a description from the usually vague “lower-body” classifier), but it sounds like the injury is a bit more severe than originally expected.
Post-Dispatch writer covered Gunnarsson’s injury during his most recent Blues chat:
“It’s a groin injury, and when I talked to him today, he said it just popped up out of the blue. At first, he thought it was fairly minor, maybe keeping him out a day or two. But it’s a little more serious than that. I was sort of surprised to see him skating today, but he said he felt well enough to get back on the ice. As I already mentioned, he said afterward that he felt just OK. The Blues have the day off Saturday and then they’re back on the ice Sunday, so we’ll see how he feels then. But with five days before the opener, I wouldn’t be shocked if he had to start on the IR.”
Gunnarsson’s injury falls firmly in the day-to-day range, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world should he be forced to spend time on the IR. The Blues have several rising young defensemen and it has allowed the team to place Chris Butler, a player many expected to be the sixth or seventh d-man, on waivers.
The Blues appear to have some solid depth on defense and Gunnarsson may be offered additional time to recover as a result.
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