Defenseman Olli Maatta is expected to be sidelined 3-4 weeks after being injured in the Penguins’ 4-3 victory Tuesday night against Minnesota.

That might not seem like particularly good news, but it could have been much worse.

Initially, there were fears that Maatta might have suffered damage to one or more internal organs. Those proved to be unfounded and, although the team has not specified the nature of his injury, it is believed to involve soft tissue and/or muscles.

Maatta, who had been hospitalized Tuesday night, was released Wednesday afternoon.

He has two goals and two assists in 18 games and had just begun working steadily alongside Kris Letang on the No. 1 defense pairing.

Maatta’s absence leaves the Penguins with just six healthy defensemen. It is not known if they will recall one from their minor league team in Wilkes-Barre before their game tonight against Colorado.

If they do, it apparently won’t be Derrick Pouliot, who has three goals and seven assists in 12 games with the Baby Penguins and arguably is the organization’s top prospect.