- Owen Tippett missed the entire second round vs. Carolina with internal bleeding
- The injury was sustained during the Flyers’ first-round series against Pittsburgh
- Read below for the full Tippett statement and his timeline to return
Owen Tippett finally has answers for Flyers fans.
The 27-year-old forward issued a statement Tuesday revealing the injury that knocked him out of Philadelphia’s second-round series against the Hurricanes. Tippett said he sustained an internal bleeding issue during the first-round series against Pittsburgh, an injury that never cleared up in time to get him back on the ice.
Tippett’s last game came in Round 1 against the Penguins. He missed all four games of the Carolina series as the Hurricanes swept Philadelphia out of the playoffs. In his statement, the winger walked through the slow rehab process.
“Following a series of medical evaluations, treatments and rehabilitation under the care of Flyers medical team, I am making progress and feeling better each day. Despite being cleared to travel and skate with the team at certain practices, things did not progress at a pace that I hoped for or would allow me to safely continue playing.”
Tippett also confirmed he’s been dealing with an unrelated sports hernia but said he doesn’t expect to need surgery for either issue.
Losing Tippett was a body blow for a Flyers offense that had already been thinned out. The team announced earlier this month that Noah Cates was also done for the rest of the round.
The winger led Philadelphia with 28 goals during the regular season and chipped in another goal plus an assist in six first-round games against Pittsburgh before going down. His absence ripped a top-six scorer out of Rick Tocchet’s lineup at the worst possible time.
Watch Tippett’s last healthy game from Round 1:
He wrapped up his statement by thanking fans and laying out his timeline to return.
“I am beyond proud of what our team has accomplished this season and truly moved by the tremendous support of the fans. I am confident for a full recovery and look forward to returning for training camp in September and an exciting year ahead for this organization.”
Tippett expects to be back for training camp in September. Philadelphia’s summer gets a lot simpler knowing their top goal scorer won’t need surgery.
