Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar announced on Wednesday.
Rantanen was injured during the Avalache’s 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday. The star forward suffered a left leg injury after catching a rut in the ice. His left foot and leg were momentarily facing the wrong direction. Rantanen needed help getting to the locker room.
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Yeah, I could have gone without seeing that. Oh! There’s a GIF with another angle.
I really hope this isnt as bad as it looks https://t.co/HrtRUduQHD
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 22, 2019
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That's Mikko Rantanen's left ankle. It's going in the wrong direction.. pic.twitter.com/9tHxlmSKkg
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) October 22, 2019
Somehow, Rantanen escaped a serious injury. Bednar believes it’s possible the forward’s timeline will be “significantly less” than four-to-six weeks.
“I should know more early next week, Tuesday, Wednesday-ish,” Bednar said via NHL.com. “Just see how he progresses over the next few days I think is a big thing. I can tell you I don’t think it is going to be a 4-to-6 week injury, we are hoping he is going to be back significantly sooner than that.
“But, we are just going to have to watch it and see, see how he is feeling in a couple days and what type of workouts he is going to be able to do. Just see how he responds to some of the extra work that he gets off the ice to start and then on the ice as well.”
In nine outings this season, Rantanen is a point-per-game player with five goals and 12 points. He’s already had several highlight-reel plays.
“He is one of the best players in the NHL. When you lose one of the best players in the NHL its tough,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “Hopefully we can weather the storm until he gets back. Mikko is a freak, he will be back I’m sure sooner than later and like I said we need guys to step up, including myself.”
Headline photo: @DimFilipovic
