Connor McDavid Injury Update: Oilers Star Undergoes Surgery on Broken Clavicle

The Edmonton Oilers announced Wednesday that center Connor McDavid underwent successful surgery to repair a broken left clavicle suffered Tuesday in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

McDavid crashed into the boards after he appeared to lose his balance skating toward the goal, as shown in this video from Sportsnet Canada: 

Speaking at a news conference, Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said the prognosis is not good, according to the Associated Press (via the New York Times): “We’re talking about months. We don’t have a particular time frame, but as I said, plural, months. There will be plates and screws involved.”

This is a huge blow for the Oilers, who have struggled out of the gate at 5-8-0. McDavid is third on the team with seven assists, tied for second with five goals and his 12 points trail only left winger Taylor Hall's 16 for the team lead. He was averaging nearly one point per contest. Not only that, but the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft was becoming the face of the franchise.    

Unfortunately for the phenom, injuries are nothing new, per this tweet from StatsCentre:

A player as talented as McDavid will certainly bounce back. It's never good to see someone get hurt, and not having McDavid on the ice is a loss for anyone who enjoys watching the NHL. Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch shares that sentiment and offered his condolences via Twitter:

The Oilers can do nothing now but move on. The silver lining here is the season is still young, and there's a slim chance the October Rookie of the Month could be back before it ends. For now the Oilers need to rely on Hall and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins—who has five goals and six assists—to make sure the season isn't lost less than one month in.