Matt Walker needs hip surgery for the second time this season. No, not that hip. The other one.
According to Tim Panaccio at CSN, Walker will need surgery on his left hip, not the same right hip that was fixed back in October. He’ll miss another six weeks, which is a lot shorter of a recovery period than the original projection on his last surgery. Originally, we were told Walker would miss 10 to 12 weeks. He wound up missing seven.
Of note and pointed out below in the comments is the fact that, more than likely, this new injury represents a break with his old one as far as the CBA is concerned. According to the CBA, an injured player may only be placed on waivers if the injury was suffered during training camp. This new injury may represent a break from that, which would mean the Flyers could not place Walker on waivers at any point until he returns.
As we pointed out earlier, it certainly is opportune timing here, and it’s weird that nobody reported the news following Sunday’s game in Hartford. All in all, it sucks for Walker (duh), but it’s not really the worst thing to happen to the Flyers.
He’s their seventh (or perhaps eighth or ninth) defenseman, and his return or his injury really has no impact on the Flyers game night lineup as of right now. So, uh, this meeting will reconvene in six weeks. See you then.
