Marie-Philip Poulin is going under the knife.
The Montreal Victoire and Team Canada star will undergo knee surgery for a torn ACL and meniscus in late July, the team announced on Thursday.
It is expected that Poulin will return “in due time,” general manager Danièle Sauvageau said, though an exact timeline was not given.
Poulin said her knee injury at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February “kinda started it,” but the ultimate injury that required surgery occurred in a March 15 game against the Boston Fleet.
The Beauceville, Que., native, 35, still played through the rest of the season, helping the Victoire lift their first-ever Walter Cup.
“I played as best I could with a torn ACL and meniscus because I wanted to be part of this journey that led us to hoist the Walter Cup,” Poulin said in a press release.
“It was with this goal in mind that I worked tirelessly to return to the game this season. It has become clear that if I want to continue playing at a high level, surgery is necessary. In the short term, it’s a difficult choice, but if I take a step back and think about the years ahead, the decision is obvious. I’m going to focus all my energy on my recovery once the surgery is done so that I can return to the game in the best physical form possible.”
Canada will next compete in the women’s hockey world championship in November in Denmark.