LA Kings Drew Doughty undergoes surgery

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Cooper Godin
September 27, 2024 (3:48 PM)

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The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly avoid worse-case scenario with Drew Doughty's injury.

During Wednesday night's preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty was injured during an awkward collision with one of his former teammates, Tanner Pearson.

Pearson was skating by the benches with the puck when both him and Doughty fall, with the Kings defenceman jamming his ankle into the boards, leaving him down on the ice in serious pain. Doughty needed to be helped back to the Kings bench and down the tunnel to the dressing room and didn't return to the game.

On Thursday, there was some worry that Drew Doughty could have suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon, which would have kept him out for a significant period of time, but this morning, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period shared a promising update on the future Hall of Famer.

In a post on social media, Bernstein shared that it sounds like, following further examinations, there is no damage to Doughty's Achilles tendon and may be dealing with a fractured ankle, which was reported on Thursday by Frank Seravalli. While it's good news that Doughty has avoided an Achilles injury, it'll still be at least a couple of months, maybe six weeks, before we see the 34-year-old back on the ice.

With Drew Doughty out for some time, it'll give someone within the system an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League right out of the gate, with the most likely option being 2021 first-round pick Brandt Clarke.

The Los Angeles Kings, without Drew Doughty, will open their 2024-25 season on Thursday, October 10th against the Buffalo Sabres. The team begins the year with a seven-game road trip before hosting the Sharks for their home opener on October 24th.

The Kings announced Doughty will undergo surgery and will be out of the lineup on a month to month basis.