Injury Bug Takes Chunk Out Of Canucks

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Vancouver Canucks on the injury front as Sami Salo is the latest Canuck to be placed on the IR.

Not only did they enter training camp without Pavol Demitra, but Mathieu Schneider was still rehabbing his shoulder that he had surgery on this offseason. Then, in the preseason Jannick Hansen broke his hand in a fight with Edmonton Oilers Gilbert Brule. Not done just yet, Daniel Sedin had his foot broken after taking a shot from Alex Edler in the teams first win over the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday. And for the cherry on top? Sami Salo is once again out of action as he sprained his MCL against the Dallas Stars on Monday.

The Canucks are just five games into the season but have five significant players out of action.

Canucks Injury Report

• Pavol Demitra - Rehab going slow, expected return late November
• Mathieu Schneider - Rehabbing shoulder, expected back late October
• Jannik Hansen - Out 2 to 4 more weeks with broken hand
• Daniel Sedin - Out 4 to 6 weeks with broken foot
• Sami Salo - Out 3 to 5 weeks with sprained MCL

As if the the 14-game road trip surrounding the Olympic break was not trying enough for the Canucks, these injuries definitely are making things interesting for Vancouver. But, the bottom line is injuries happen and there is nothing you can do about it.

In other roster news, Guillaume Desbiens was returned to the Manitoba Moose this morning. The Moose play at home tonight and tomorrow against the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. It is expected that after these two games wrap that the Canucks will make the call to Craig Heisinger. The three candidates to be recalled are Sergei Shirokov, Michael Grabner and Alex Bolduc. Shirokov has netted a goal and two assists since being sent down to Manitoba while Grabner has three goals and an assist. Bolduc has no points since returning from injury but has experience playing with the Canucks last year.

It will definitely be an interesting in Canuck nation over the next two months. Let's just hope this is it from the injury bug. The Canucks next game will be against the Calgary Flames on Friday.

Remember to follow me on Twitter for all the news and goal-by-goal updates for your Vancouver Canucks and the National Hockey League. http://twitter.com/VanCitySports