Philadelphia Flyers forward likely to miss entire season after serious injury, career could be in jeopardy

PUBLICATION

Josh tupper
September 19, 2022 (5:20 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Philadelphia Flyers were looking to bounce back from a disappointing season last year. With hopes of a returning Sean Couturier the Flyers had their mind set on a bounce back year, but that task just for tougher. Couturier was limited to just 29 games last year and now it appears his games played will be even lower this year.

Couturier began suffering from back pain during the season last year. 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. Elliotte Friedman shared 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.

The story was originally broken by Anthony SanFillippo:

I've been told that @NHLFlyers center Sean Couturier has a herniated disc in his back that could cost him several months, if not the whole season. I have a story coming very shortly.

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