Hershey Bears’ left wing Nathan Walker was on the verge of his first career promotion. Now he will sit for the next four to six weeks due to an unlucky injury.

On Saturday, Walker broke his hand after blocking a shot in the Bears 4-2 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The tiny but pugnacious Australian has tallied nine goals and 10 assists this season with the Bears, after getting a career best 41 points last season.

“Nathan Walker was a name that we’re thinking about bringing up and he got hurt this weekend,” Head Coach Barry Trotz said following the Caps’ promotions of Chandler Stephenson and Christian Djoos after the All-Star Break. “So [Nathan] will be eliminated for a little bit.”

“There’s been a lot of guys that we’ve been happy with that we feel are going to play for us (someday),” Trotz continued. “All that being said, we try to take these opportunities when we’re pretty healthy and bring up guys and take a peek at them.”

More from the Bears:

The Hershey Bears announced today that forward Nathan Walker sustained a broken hand while blocking a shot in Hershey’s 4-2 victory at Springfield on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Walker is expected to miss 4-6 weeks while he recovers from the injury.

The Bears return to action in Binghamton on Friday. Hershey returns home to Giant Center on Saturday to host the St. John’s IceCaps at 7 p.m. It’s Chocolate Covered February, Faith & Family Night, and there will be a CommunityAid Clothing Drive that evening. On Sunday, Hershey hosts St. John’s for a special 2 p.m. puck drop. Ticket information is available at HersheyBears.com.