Horrible news for Sean Couturier and the Philadelphia Flyers

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Dorin Canaday
September 19, 2022 (5:57 PM)

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The Philadelphia Flyers had hoped to improve on a very disappointing 2021-22 season, and a lot of that was thanks to a returning Sean Couturier.

Couturier was limited to just 29 games last year, and now it appears his games played this season can potentially be much lower. The 29-year-old began suffering from back pain last season. After trying many non-surgical options without success, he opted to undergo surgery in February to repair the issue. Chuck Fletcher said the following at the time:

''This wasn't an issue that was bothering him coming into this year. I think he started having issues in the fall and tried to battle through. We tried to treat things nonsurgically, a couple of epidurals to be exact, tried to resolve the issue that was there.''

''You try to do your best to avoid back surgery if you can, but ultimately the doctor and Sean felt confident that the best way to resolve this going forward would be to have this surgical intervention.''

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Couturier had received a clean bill of health and was set to return. Unfortunately, though, over the past few days, Couturier began to experience pain in the surgically repaired location.

Anthony SanFillippo of Crossing Broad broke the news first:

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed on the reports as well, sharing the following information:

''Couturier and Flyers are seeking a second opinion to determine exact nature of injury. Pain occurred within the last few days during a skate. While it is in same area as previous injury, there is not yet certainty it is the same injury.''

If Couturier has suffered an injury in the same location as his previous injury, this could unquestionably be career-threatening. Hopefully, he is able to find the cause of the issue to ensure he retains his quality of life.

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