Rangers C Filip Chytil to miss remainder of season

New York Rangers center Filip Chytil, who last played Nov. 2, will not return this season, the club said in a statement on Sunday.

The team has described Chytil's ailment as an upper-body injury, but multiple reports have said he is dealing with a concussion.

He returned from his native Czech Republic earlier this week after spending time away to recover, but ESPN and USA Today reported that Chytil suffered a setback Friday when he fell during practice.

"Following a thorough evaluation of Filip Chytil after his recent setback from an upper body injury, it has been confirmed he will be out for the remainder of this season," the Rangers said in a statement. "The organization's top priority throughout this process has been Filip's health and we will continue to fully support him in his recovery with an aim to return for the 2024-25 season."

Chytil, 24, has spent his entire NHL career with the Rangers, who drafted him in the first round in 2017. He had career highs in points (45), goals (22) and assists (23) in 74 games last season. He had six assists through 10 games to start this campaign.

In parts of seven seasons, Chytil has totaled 144 points (64 goals, 80 assists) over 337 career games.

Chytil called his time away from hockey "the hardest 3 months of (his) life" in an Instagram post Sunday.

"We gotta stay positive even in these tough moments and just think what is ahead of us," Chytil wrote. "Thanks to you all for nice messages! I'll come back stronger than ever!"