Philadelphia Flyers fans received scary news when word came down that captain Claude Giroux suffered a cut to his right index finger when the shaft of his golf club shattered during a swing.
He’s expected to miss 5-6 weeks, meaning he could miss all of the upcoming training camp and preseason. He was playing golf Thursday in Ottawa. It was just several weeks ago he signed an eight-year, $66.2 million contract extension with the Flyers.
“It was just a freak thing,” Giroux told the (Philadelphia) Daily News. “I was taking a swing and my club hit a little behind the ball. The shaft of the club shattered, but my hand kept going on the swing and the shattered part went right into my finger.”
Giroux’s father Raymond went on to tell a Quebec newspaper that Claude hit a ball and the club broke in two; one piece flew in the air then landed on his hand and cut him.
Surgery was immediately performed at the Ottawa Civic Hospital to repair the damaged finger. He went on to tell the Daily News, “I think I’ll really be able to get back to doing things in 2-to-3 weeks. I will be able to skate, and get in skating shape, but I won’t be able to be lifting any weights for a while.”
He’s been injured often in recent seasons. The injuries have came when the NHL season was on hiatus as he’s missed only five games since the 2009-10 season. Last season, he suffered a neck injury when playing in Germany during the lockout. That came after he had surgery to repair ligaments in each wrist last summer.
He has been invited to the Canadian Olympic team training camp next week in Calgary.