Flyers Notes: Umberger to have surgery on hip and abdominal muscles

For most of the season, Flyers winger R.J. Umberger has seemed slow and out of sync.

The reason became clear Saturday.

Umberger, 32, will undergo surgery Wednesday on his right hip and abdominal muscles, the Flyers announced.

General manager Ron Hextall said that Umberger had two cam lesions in his right hip, and added that it's not unusual for players to play through that type of injury.

The Flyers knew about the condition, Hextall said, when they acquired Umberger and a 2015 fourth-round draft pick from Columbus last June for Scott Hartnell.

"This didn't come out of the blue. It was inevitable last summer," Hextall said. "We knew at the end of the year he would be getting surgery. It's one of those things where you lean on the player. If he's in too much pain and can't perform and you feel like his performance isn't helping, then it's like: 'OK, let's shut him down and get him ready for next year.' "

The abdominal tear, Hextall said, is what slowed Umberger for "months" and eventually shut him down for the season.

"He probably should have come to us a little bit earlier," Hextall said, "but I give him credit that he didn't because he's a tough guy."

Umberger finishes the season with just nine goals, a career-low 15 points, and a minus-9 rating. He went goalless in his last 18 games, a career-worst streak.

"R.J.'s not happy with his year. We're not happy with his year. That's life," Hextall said.

Umberger was scratched the last three games. After he was scratched Tuesday, the winger said: "I think the biggest thing that's bothered me is just that I feel like I've let Ron Hextall down."

Hextall said the "medical people" told him the hip could not get any worse, which is why Umberger tried to play through that injury.

The Flyers recalled forward Nick Cousins from the Phantoms late Saturday. Hextall added that defenseman Michael Del Zotto (upper-body injury) will make the road trip but will not play Sunday in Ottawa.