Evgeny Medvedev Heads Back to Philly With ‘Upper Body Injury’

EDMONTON, Alberta — The plan was for Evgeny Medvedev to take a skate Tuesday morning with Sean Couturier and Chris Conner.

A black practice jersey hung in the Russian defenseman's locker stall, but the player was nowhere to be found.

Instead of being at the rink, he was en route back to Philadelphia with what general manager Ron Hextall calls an "upper-body injury."

Monday Medvedev sat out against the Vancouver Canucks, but said he was healthy after the morning skate.

"He’s been a little bit up and down, with and without the puck," coach Dave Hakstol said at the time. "For him coming out, in a lot of respects, it might be good for him to actually watch a game. Just keep progressing."

Now the Flyers are hoping it will just be one more game he sits out. Monday night the team could have used Medvedev, who has been one of their better defensemen all season. The 33 year old will be evaluated by team doctors Wednesday back at home and the team will know more about his status then.

His omission from the lineup means...