"He's seeing a couple doctors," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said Monday. "We have a couple of opinions. At this time all I can say is he's week to week. He reinjured the same injury and we're in the process of rehabbing. Not exactly sure what the length is going to be but it's week to week."
Hayes left a 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 16 after becoming tangled with Flames forward Elias Lindholm with 2:38 left in the second period and falling awkwardly. He returned for the third period but has been out the past two games.
"I was in panic mode there but talked to the trainers and we figured it out," Hayes said after the Flames game.
Hayes had core muscle surgery in May and abdominal surgery Sept. 21 that kept the forward out for the first 12 games of the season. He made his season debut against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 13 and scored his first goal in the second period against the Flames.
Philadelphia (8-6-3) is 1-3-1 in its past five games after losing 4-0 at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Flyers visit the Florida Panthers on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, NBCSP, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Hayes is with the Flyers on the trip and will remain in Florida to continue his rehabilitation.
"He's getting some of his treatments here in Tampa Bay by a specialist that our medical crew was able to find," Vigneault said. "So he'll be spending a couple days here."
Hayes
has worked in the past
with Alex Guerrero, who co-founded TB12 Sports with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, and opened TB12 Performance and Recovery in Tampa in 2020. He previously worked out at the TB12 facility in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
