Red Wings’ Robby Fabbri to Miss Remainder of 2022-23 Season Due to Lower-Body Injury
Detroit Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri will officially miss the rest of this season due to a lower-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde announced Wednesday.
Fabbri, sidelined since Mar. 8th, is facing a four-to-six-week recovery timeline, ending his fourth season with the Red Wings after just 28 games. The 27-year-old is expected to be fully healthy ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Lalonde suggested Fabbri would ultimately be ruled out for the remainder of the season earlier this week, saying, “I think it’s more of a cautious approach with him, looking more towards next year.”
The 5-foot-11 winger has already endured three ACL surgeries in his career, with his most recent one ending his 2021-22 campaign last March. As for whether his current ailment could require a procedure, the Red Wings’ bench boss said, at most, it would be a minor operation.
“I don’t think it’s going to be aggressive-type surgery,” Lalonde said. “If there is, I think it’s a clean-up type thing.”
Fabbri suffered the injury during Detroit’s 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, leaving the game after just six shifts and 4:48 of ice time. His 2022-23 season ends with seven goals and 16 points in 28 games.
The Mississauga, Ont., native made a surprising return to the lineup on Jan. 4th after recovering from his third ACL tear, logging 14:54 of ice time, albeit in a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. But the fact that he was back playing with his teammates less than 12 months out from surgery was an accomplishment in itself.
“I’ve always had that in me that whatever I’m doing, I want to be the best at it,” Fabbri said in the video. “That fire has only grown through these injuries. There’s no doubt in my mind I am going to be what I was before and more. I’ve been an outlier once, and I’m going to be an outlier again.”
Fabbri, acquired from the St. Louis Blues in November 2019, is signed through 2024-25 with a $4 million cap hit per season. He can become an unrestricted free agent after his current contract expires.
Sadly, the Red Wings have been riddled with injuries for much of this season, as goaltender Ville Husso (lower body), forwards Filip Zadina (lower body) and Michael Rasmussen (knee) could also miss the team’s final nine games. Defenceman Mark Pysyk hasn’t played all season after undergoing Achilles surgery last summer.
Ben Chiarot, meanwhile, is slated to return from an undisclosed injury during Thursday’s contest versus the Carolina Hurricanes. The veteran blueliner, who’s been out since Mar. 14th, has five goals and 18 points in his first season of a four-year, $19-million contract with Detroit.
The Red Wings own a 32-32-9 record with 73 points this season, good for fourth-fewest in the Eastern Conference. They’ll wrap up the regular season on the road with a contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Apr. 13th.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Michael Barera. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.