Breaking: Veteran referee suffers brutal injury in preparation for World Cup.

It's rare that we hear about serious injuries to the officials of the game, but this is certainly one of them.

While preparing for the World Cup of Hockey and the National Hockey League's regular season veteran referee Chris Rooney has reportedly suffered a brutal injury, one that will force him to miss both the World Cup and at least the entire regular season. 

According to a report from Sportsnet's Roger Millions Rooney suffered the injury during a training camp session in Buffalo, and although it's unclear exactly how it happened, we do know he has a torn ACL and it's going to be a long road back as a result.

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Rooney has been a National Hockey League referee for the last 16 years, and is a veteran of several finals as well as events like the Winter Classic, all factors that likely led to him being selected for the World Cup.

While it may not seem like a big deal right now, having a relatively inexperienced official take over for Rooney this season will likely impact some games.