Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara will miss Monday’s game against the Washington Capitals to have more surgery on the jaw he broke in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final before returning for Game 5.
The team announced that he developed an infection and will have the plates and screws in the area removed.
“The area where the surgery was done got infected, which is kind of rare, but it does happen after six months,” Chara said, according to the team website. “The decision was made to avoid maybe further troubleshooting with that area to basically remove all the plates and screws and clean it up. Pretty much the same [procedure], just instead of putting the plates in, it’s gonna be taking the plates out.”
Chara, 42, said he thinks he might miss only the Caps game, returning from the Christmas break for the Dec. 27 game in Buffalo.
Chara was hit in the jaw by a shot in Game 4 against the St. Louis Blues and suffered multiple fractures. He had his jaw wired together and was able to return to the series, wearing a full face mask, but the Blues ended up winning in seven games.
He said Sunday that he was experiencing tenderness in the area.
“We treated it, calmed it down and now it’s just basically at that point where I think it’s stable,” he said. “But we want to avoid further possible repeat infections. We have to treat it.”