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Report: Letang’s illness not believed to be life threatening, but Pens unsure when he’ll return

Kris Letang

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) plays during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Islanders won 4-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Here is an update from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review (read the full version here) on the condition of Kris Letang.

Kris Letang’s mystery illness is not believed life threatening, but the Penguins are not sure when he will play again this season, multiple sources told the Tribune-Review.

The team planned to update Letang’s condition Friday.

There were concerns last week that Letang’s season — if not his career — could be in jeopardy because of the illness, the sources said.

Letang, a defenseman, has not taken the ice since Jan. 30, when he practiced but did not play at Los Angeles. He will not play against the New York Rangers at Consol Energy Center on Friday — the Penguins’ final game before the NHL’s Olympic break.

“There will be no update on Kris Letang until we have further update on his condition,” coach Dan Bylsma said Thursday.

The 26-year-old hasn’t played since Jan. 27 in a 3-0 defeat of Buffalo. Last week, Bylsma said the team didn’t know what was plaguing last year’s Norris finalist, adding that Letang was undergoing tests and evaluations to figure it out.

This has been an extremely difficult season for Letang’s health. He missed nine games at the start of the year with a knee injury, then another 10 with what was believed to be an elbow issue.

All told, Letang has appeared in just 34 games for Pittsburgh this season, scoring 10 goals and 18 points.

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