Tomas Hertl to have MRI for lower-body injury; out for Saturday

San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl will miss Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes with a lower-body injury he suffered in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Hertl, 23, flew back to San Jose on Friday and will undergo an MRI, coach Pete DeBoer said.

"Any time you're sending a guy back early on a trip to get looked at, there's concern," DeBoer said. "But you look around the league, and everyone's dealing with injuries. A lot of injuries to key guys, so we have to continue on here."

Hertl appeared to be injured when he collided with Blues forward Jori Lehtera in the second period. He skated to the bench soon after and was seen limping up the tunnel. He did not return to the game.

"It wasn't one of those situations where it was really evident, and it didn't look really serious," DeBoer said. "Hopefully, it's not. We'll wait and see."

Hertl has dealt with serious injuries before, including a right knee injury in June that forced him to miss four games of the Stanley Cup finals as well as the World Cup of Hockey.

He also had surgery during his rookie season to repair ligaments in his right knee.

"He's been through a lot for a young guy," DeBoer said. "He was playing great, arguably been one of our best players here through the first 20 games after a summer of rehab. So you feel for him."

A fourth-year player, Hertl has nine points in 17 games.