Athletistic / Hockey. Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Cooper says Russian Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev definitely won’t play at the end of the NHL regular season. According to the coach, the Russian will return to the game no earlier than the second round of the Stanley Cup in 2024.
“It’s obvious that Sergachev’s return to the ice gives confidence and morale to him and the entire team. These are small first steps. Now Mikhail has a long road to recovery, but it’s great that ‘he’s already on the ice’ Sergachev is making progress, but I don’t think he can play in the first round of the playoffs. But who knows? We will win a round or two, never say never,” Cooper said, as quoted by the NHL press service.
Mikhail Sergachev was seriously injured on February 8 in a match against the New York Rangers (1:3). It is noteworthy that this happened in the first match after recovering from a knee injury, due to which he missed almost two months. As a result, the Russian hockey player had to undergo surgery to stabilize the fractures of the tibia and fibula in his left leg.
This season, Mikhail Sergachev played 34 games in the regular NHL championship and scored 19 points (2+17) and was productive. As a member of Tampa, the Russian became a two-time winner of the Stanley Cup.
Source: Sport
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
