Oilers rookie star Connor McDavid has broken collarbone

Edmonton Oilers rookie Connor McDavid will be out indefinitely because of a broken left collarbone.

He was expected to undergo surgery Wednesday with a recuperation period expected to stretch into months.

“We’re talking about months,” Oilers General Manager Peter Chiarelli told a news conference. “We don’t have a particular time frame, but as I said, plural, months. There will be plates and screws involved.”

McDavid was injured Tuesday night in the Oilers’ 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Racing down the left wing toward the Flyers goal late in the second period, with Flyers defenders Brandon Manning and Michael Del Zotto beside him, McDavid appeared to lose the edge on his skate.

The trio fell and plowed hard into the end boards.

The 18-year-old McDavid struggled to his feet and skated slowly to the bench.

“In my experience with these significant injuries with younger players they come back stronger,” Chiarelli said.

McDavid went down in the 13th game of his rookie season, but in that time he had already established himself as one of the key players and catalysts on the Oilers.

McDavid has five goals and 12 points in 12 games this season. He was the NHL’s rookie of the month for October.

The Oilers are 5-8 and fighting to return to the playoffs for the first time in a decade.