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Sens’ Karlsson facing four month recovery after foot surgery

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The Ottawa Senators announced on Wednesday that defenseman Erik Karlsson will be sidelined for four months following surgery to repair torn tendons in his left foot.

It was revealed after the first round that Karlsson was playing through a hairline fracture in his foot (and still dominating) but an MRI after the season revealed the tendon damage.

“Erik underwent surgery earlier today in Charlotte, N.C, to repair torn tendons in his left foot,” general manager Pierre Dorion announced.

“The tears, which occurred during this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, were found during an MRI as part of an extensive medical evaluation following the season. The recovery from this surgery is expected to take approximately four months. This timeline leaves us hopeful that Erik will be fully recovered and healthy to start the 2017-18 regular season.”

That timeline should make his expected return sometime around the middle of October, which would not only sideline him for all of training camp and the preseason, but perhaps even the start of the regular season.

Even while playing through the injury Karlsson was the Senators’ best player and one of the single biggest reasons they reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in double overtime to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

His performance during the postseason was so dominant that he actually received a Conn Smythe Trophy vote (a third-place vote) despite not playing in the Stanley Cup Final.