Darren Helm might not be ready for the start of the season after colliding into 21-year-old prospect Jerome Verrier during the first day of training camp on Friday.
Helm sustained a Grade 1 slight shoulder separation, per MLive.com writer Ansar Khan. He’s also going through the concussion protocol, but the 28-year-old forward feels good as far as that goes, according to the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan.
Even if his possible concussion proves to be a non-factor though, he’s still projected to miss the next two-to-four weeks just due to the shoulder injury. So even in a best case scenario, it seems unlikely that he’ll play in any preseason games. The mid-point of his timetable is close to Detroit’s season opener on Oct. 9.
Helm’s dealt with more than his fair share of injury problems in the past as a variety of ailments resulted in him only playing in 43 games over the 2013 and 2013-14 campaigns. He was able to participate in 75 contests last season though.
Verrier’s right leg was broken due to the same incident.