Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa left a World Cup warmup game between Team Europe and Team North America with a left foot bruise Thursday night, reports The Athletic’s Scott Powers. Hossa went to the hospital to undergo x-rays and the injury is not believed to be serious.
Team Europe coach Ralph Kreuger said Hossa is “all green lights” for the team’s game Sunday against North America at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The veteran forward left Thursday’s game after taking a puck to his left foot, per Powers. Hossa played nearly 11 minutes in the first two periods of Team Europe’s 4-0 loss in the exhibition, but didn’t appear in the final period.
There’s no need to start panicking, but it goes without saying that a major injury to Hossa would be bad news for the Blackhawks. Even at age 37, he is expected to play a key role with the team this season, so even X-rays put a scare into fans.
With the beginning of the NHL season so soon, it’ll be a frustrating turn of events if one of the Hawks’ key players suffers an injury before it even begins. I suppose you could argue it would be better now since there’s still more than a month before opening night, but this is still part of the challenging compromise that comes with participating in an international tournament weeks before the NHL puck drops.
Back in May, I wondered why Hossa, at age 37 and playing for a slapped together Team Europe, would want to risk it in a World Cup. I thought that largely because injuries can happen at any time in hockey.