The San Jose Sharks will be without the services of second-line center Logan Couture for the next six weeks as it was revealed Friday morning that the former first-round pick suffered a broken leg during Sharks practice on Thursday, by both ESPN's Britt McHenry and Tony Marinaro of TSN. Late Thursday, it was reported that Couture had suffered a "fluke fall" in the corner during a five-on-five drill and that he was seen afterwards in a walking boot and using crutches, but there was no definitive word on the extent of his injury, though he was said to be in "significant pain" and was unable to bear any weight on the leg.
"Logan was injured in practice on Thursday in New Jersey and suffered a fractured right fibula at the ankle," Sharks GM Doug Wilson said in a statement announcing Couture's injury. "He will be returning to San Jose to undergo surgery under the direction of Kaiser Permanente's medical team. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks."
The blow will not be an easy one for the Sharks to overcome. Couture has been centering what has arguably the team's best line through three games of the 2015-16 NHL season. While the 26-year-old pivot had only managed one assist and a plus-one in that time, his effort playing between Joel Ward and Patrick Marleau had been a key reason for San Jose's 3-0 start to the season.
