Penguins forward Jason Zucker undergoes core muscle surgery
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury Tuesday and will remain sidelined indefinitely.
His status was announced by the team Tuesday. A more definite time frame for recovery is expected to be revealed in the upcoming days.
Zucker has missed 10 of the past 11 games because of the injury. He initially was sidelined for seven games between Jan. 2 and 15 with the ailment and returned to the lineup Jan. 17. During a 5-3 road win against the Vegas Golden Knights, Zucker, a native of Las Vegas, scored twice in the comeback victory.
Afterward, Zucker was sidelined again and placed on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 17. He has missed the past three games before Tuesday’s home contest against the Arizona Coyotes.
A designation to long-term injured reserve allows a team to temporarily relieve itself of some or all of a player’s salary cap hit.
Previously, coach Mike Sullivan has indicated Zucker was playing through the ailment for several weeks dating back to December.
Overall this season, Zucker has appeared in 31 games and scored 13 points (six goals, seven assists) while averaging 15:34 of ice time per contest.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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