Breaking: McDavid's illness has taken a serious toll on his body.

The Edmonton Oilers announced that superstar forward Connor McDavid has been battling an illness for a significant length of time this week when head coach Todd McLellan addressed the media but they didn't comment on the severity of what he was dealing with.

On Thursday TSN insider Darren Dreger provided an update during a radio interview, revealing that whatever it is McDavid is dealing with has taken a serious toll on his body.

"I don't know how much this story has been played up locally, but he was real sick," said Dreger during a TSN Radio 1260 segment on Thursday. "In fact, probably shouldn't have been in the lineup, but the kid's a gamer, right? And probably realizes that if he's not in the lineup then their chances of winning are weakened that much more."

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So how sick has Edmonton's captain been over the last week or more? According to the insider McDavid has dropped something like 2.5% to 5.5% of his total body weight.

"My understanding is he lost between five and 10 pounds which on that frame is a considerable amount."

Despite the illness McDavid has continued to battle on the ice for his team, although his ice time has declined to a season low, but one has to wonder how long he can keep it up if the illness continues to take it's toll