Another evidence how serious is #sjsharks Hertl's injury: Czech national coach Hadamczik confirmed for isport.cz Tomas won't play in Sochi.
— Roman Jedlicka (@jedli) December 26, 2013The news comes as no surprise, as Hertl is set to undergo right knee surgery within the next few days. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson essentially ruled Hertl out of the Olympics when he met with the media during the second intermission of the Sharks-Avalanche game on Monday.
Still, it’s another sign that Hertl is dealing with a major injury, after his knee-on-knee collision with the Kings’ Dustin Brown on Dec. 19. When asked about a best-case scenario for Hertl on Monday, Wilson danced around the inquiry.
“That’s a really good question. Certainly, it’s longer than a month. It’s going to be beyond that. I don’t know. You go in hoping it’s one thing, but I think they feel fairly, reasonably comfortable that they know it’s a couple of things going on. Obviously, the more that’s in there, the more damage that’s done, the more extensive the repair and the longer he would be.”
The 20-year-old Hertl still leads all NHL rookies in goals (15) and points (25).
