Ryan O'Reilly out indefinitely after appendectomy

Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly underwent an appendectomy during the NHL’s holiday break, the team announced Tuesday.

No timetable has been set for the return of O’Reilly, a former All-Star and a member of Canada’s 2016 World Cup team.

For a frame of reference on recovery time, on Dec. 3, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford had an appendectomy and returned Dec. 23.

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Last season, Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf missed four games (from Oct. 27 until his return on Nov. 6) after undergoing an appendectomy. Teammate Rickard Rakell missed the last six games of the 2015-16 regular season after an appendectomy. He returned for the playoffs, but missed five games this year after he had scar tissue removed from the previous procedure.

The Sabres have been hit hard with injuries to their top-six forwards this season. Jack Eichel missed the team’s first 21 games with an ankle injury and forward Evander Kane missed 11 games with cracked ribs. O’Reilly has also missed six games with both an upper body injury (five games) and an undisclosed ailment (one game).

O’Reilly has 18 points in 27 games this season, which ranks fourth on the Sabres. He leads all Buffalo forwards in average ice-time per-game at 21:32.

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Buffalo came into the season in hopes of taking a step closer towards making the playoffs for the first time since 2011, but the team has faltered. The Sabres (12-13-8) are currently are tied for the worst point total in the Eastern Conference at 32 and are also tied with the Arizona Coyotes for the league’s worst offense, scoring 2.12 goals per-game.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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