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Abdelkader out 2-4 weeks as another -- yes, another -- injury hits Detroit

Detroit Red Wings v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 15: Justin Abdelkader #8 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on March 15, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Red Wings 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Injuries are a part of the game. But in Detroit, they’re becoming a fabric of the team.

On Friday, the Red Wings announced that burly power forward Justin Abdelkader would miss the next 2-4 weeks with a MCL sprain (per the Free Press), suffered in last night’s OT loss to Florida.

Abdelkader -- who has four goals and eight points through 22 games this season -- was averaging 16:26 TOI per night prior to getting hurt. He’d also been heating up lately after a slow start to the year, with four points in his last six contests.

As mentioned in the headline, this is just the latest in a series of injuries to hit the Wings:

-- Andreas Athanasiou has been out since Nov. 11 with a knee injury.

-- Darren Helm has been out since Nov. 17 with a shoulder issue.

-- Jimmy Howard hasn’t played since Nov. 25 due to a groin strain.

-- Alexey Marchenko was placed on IR last week with a shoulder problem of his own.

-- Brendan Smith is out four weeks with a knee injury.

-- Tyler Bertuzzi is out 3-5 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

The club is expected to make another recall from AHL Grand Rapids to fill the Abdelkader void. Leaning on the Griffins has been a common trend this year -- in last night’s game against the Panthers, both Anthony Mantha and Ryan Sproul saw significant playing time.