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Steven Stamkos Injury Update: Shoulder Injury Could Keep Lightning Star Out of World Championships

Steven Stamkos was dealing with a shoulder injury for the last few games of the season, and depending on how he feels, he could miss the World Championships.

April 7, 2012; Winnipeg, MB, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (91) during the second period against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE
April 7, 2012; Winnipeg, MB, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (91) during the second period against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE

The season is over for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but there is still hockey to be played for some of the top players in the organization. The World Championships are coming up over the Summer, and because of an injury suffered at some point toward the end of the year to Steven Stamkos, it could be without one of it's biggest stars, according to Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times.

Stamkos, 22, who on Saturday became the 20th player to score 60 goals in a season, said he did not know how the injury occurred, but said, "It's something that bugged me pretty good for a couple of games" and almost caused him to miss the March 10 game with Carolina.

The tournament is just about a month away, but Stamkos figures to make a decision shortly.

"We'll make a decision in the next couple of days," Stamkos said about the world championship, May 4-20 in Sweden and Finland.

The Lightning aren't sure yet how to proceed quite yet, but they want to make sure that they know exactly what kind of injury they are dealing with.

"We want to make sure everything is good in there and we're not missing anything and he's diagnosed properly," Yzerman said.

For more on this injury and all things Tampa Bay Lightning hockey, head over to Raw Charge.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.