Rumor: The Wild may lose their captain for some time.

It sounds like the Minnesota Wild may be fearing the worst when it comes to the status of their captain.

On Saturday night, Wild captain Jared Spurgeon left a game against the Florida Panthers during the first period of play after he suffered a mysterious injury. It did not appear as though the injury was created by any kind of physical contact and in fact it is difficult to tell how Spurgeon got injured. It is true however that these non-contact type of injuries are often the most severe and, while we still don't know for sure, it sounds like there is some concern this could be the case for Spurgeon as well.

On Sunday Minnesota Wild insider Mike Russo revealed that the captain would be "getting pictures" tomorrow for the lower-body injury that knocked him out of Saturday's game. More importantly however, Russo revealed that he believes the Wild are expecting their captain to be out for some time.

The timing could not be any worse for the Wild who are off to one of the best starts they have ever had to a regular season. Through 18 games the Wild have 11 wins, 6 losses and 1 overtime loss and that is good enough for 23 points and sole possession of first place in the National Hockey League's Central Division. 

Spurgeon has obviously been a big part of that, both as a defenseman and in his role as a leader on the team. Not only did Spurgeon inherit the "C" following the departure of forward Mikko Koivu, but his role has no doubt taken on even more importance now with the departure of veterans like Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

Prior to being injured in Saturday's game against the Panthers, the 31 year old blue liner had appeared in 17 games for the Wild this season, recording 3 goals and 5 assists for a total of 8 points. He currently sits a plus minus rating of +5 and has 2 penalty minutes on the season.

We will bring you more information once the Wild provide an official update.