Bruins Quiet On Brandon Carlo’s Status Amid Reports Of Broken Fibula
The reports are ominous for Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. The second-year blue liner appeared to suffer a serious, potentially season-ending injury to his lower body on Saturday. But the team has yet to give a concrete update on Carlo’s status.
Carlo suffered the injury against the Florida Panthers on Saturday when he fell awkwardly to the ice and had to be stretchered off.
Brandon Carlo lands awkwardly on his left ankle and gets stretchered off the ice pic.twitter.com/lcISiyxbW2
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 31, 2018
Burlington-based sports medicine physician Dr. Jessica Flynn contributed to McDonald’s report, adding that the best-case scenario for Carlo is that it’s a small fracture and he could return in 2-6 weeks. But the worst-case scenario is that he suffered a similar fracture to that of Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, which would have Carlo looking at a recovery time of 4-6 months.
It appears likely that it’s closer to the latter case, and that the Bruins will have to play the rest of the season without the 21-year-old defenseman. Even the best-case scenario has him returning in the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at best – if the Bruins do get that far.
The injury is rough news for the Bruins, who were just starting to get healthy again on defense. Zdeno Chara returned on Sunday and Charlie McAvoy could be back as soon as Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But the likely loss of Carlo would underscore the team’s need to add depth on the blue line before the trade deadline, as it appears they’ll need Nick Holden’s size in April – and hopefully beyond.
— By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.