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Lilja has Hip Surgery, Will Miss Four Months |
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The Flyers already-depleted defense corps has lost another player. According to
an article in Helsingborgs Dagblad (the local paper in Lilja's Swedish hometown), the 37-year-old defenseman will be out of action until December as a result of undergoing hip injury.
Lilja told the newspaper that he had grown used to having hip pain during the season but the pain usually went away during the summer. This summer, however, the pain did not go away and actually got a little worse. A doctor diagnosed it as a degenerative hip condition and recommended the surgery.
The veteran depth blueliner, who is currently at his home in Sweden, plans to return to the USA to rehab under the Flyers' direction. He will remain in the US to rehab. Even if the NHL season begins on time, he will miss the first two months. Lilja had originally intended to play for Swedish team Rögle BK in the event of an NHL lockout but that plan is now out the window.
Lilja's injury now brings the number of healthy Flyers defensemen down to seven. Barring a new acquisition, Marc-Andre Bourdon and Erik Gustafsson are now both virtual locks to make the opening night roster unless Brandon Manning beats one of them out.
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