BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Sabres center Tim Connolly will miss the rest of the regular season after the team decided Friday he’ll have surgery to remove bone chips in his hip.
Sabres general manager Darcy Regier said Connolly is scheduled to have surgery on Monday in Colorado. It’s unclear whether Connolly be able to return should the Sabres qualify for the playoffs, which open in three weeks.
Regier was scheduled to provide an update later in the evening during the first intermission of Buffalo’s home game against Toronto.
The hip injury has bothered Connolly for much of the past three months, and he had hoped to complete the season before having surgery.
He missed 13 straight games from Jan. 10 to Feb. 8, before returning to the lineup. The play-making center played in 14 of the next 16 games, before aggravating the injury when he crashed heavily into the boards during a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on March 10.
Connolly has not played since, missing the past four games.
With 40 points (seven goals, 33 assists) in 48 games, he still ranks sixth on the Sabres in scoring this season.
The injury was the latest setback for Connolly, who missed all but two regular season games last year because of a neck injury and post-concussion symptoms. He also missed the entire 2003-04 season because of a concussion.
Connolly has one year left on a three-year, $8.7 million contract, and scheduled to make $3.5 million next season.
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