Chicago Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger will miss Team Sweden’s second World Cup warmup against Team Finland due to an upper-body injury, reports ESPN’s Joe McDonald.
“It’s precautionary,” Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg said. “We’ve got to make sure we know exactly what the situation is, so we’re making sure we’re following the doctor’s advice of what to do.”
Kruger played over nine minutes for Sweden in the first warmup exhibition against Finland on Thursday night. He got whistled for two penalties, which is rather out of character, and didn’t play over the final few minutes of the third period or overtime.
The defensive whiz underwent surgery for a dislocated left wrist in December and missed half of last season. It’s unclear whether this injury has anything to do with that, but the good news is that it doesn’t appear to be serious. Kruger is the second Hawks player to get beat up in World Cup warmups after Marian Hossa was taken to the hospital for x-rays Thursday night after taking a puck to the foot.
Neither player appears to be in line to miss any time in the World Cup at this point, but it’ll be worth watching considering you’d rather have these guys closer to 100 percent for the start of the NHL season. The World Cup runs Sept. 17 through Oct. 1 in Toronto.