Staal

PITTSBURGH — Penguins forward Jordan Staal needs five to six weeks to recover from the latest procedure performed on his injured right foot and will miss the start of the NHL season.

A tendon on the top of Staal's foot was sliced when Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban stepped on it during an April 30 playoff game. Staal had surgery and returned to play in less than a week.

After the Penguins were eliminated in the series, Staal had two additional procedures to remove infected tissue in the foot, including another operation. Staal also required treatment with antibiotics.

The 22-year-old Staal has never missed a regular season game to injury in four NHL seasons, but has done little skating this summer because of the injury. A finalist for the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward, he wore a walking boot and was on crutches during the NHL awards dinner June 23.

"Jordan developed a post-op infection in his foot, and it required several procedures to ensure that all infected tissues were removed," Penguins physician Charles Burke said in a statement.

"Jordan was bothered by a localized recurrent infection in the tissue area near the tendon repair. This has required treatment with both antibiotics and several repeat debridements (clean-outs) to remove infected tissue. We are confident the situation has been resolved."

The Penguins open training camp today and begin the season Oct. 7 at home against Philadelphia. If Staal returns in five weeks, he could play as early as Oct. 21 at Nashville.