Phoenix Player Hit by Car, Will Miss 4-6 Weeks

Phoenix Coyote defenseman Ossi Vaananen was hit by a car while waiting for a taxi in Florida last weekend and will be out four to six weeks because of a knee injury.

Vaananen was in Sunrise, Fla., for the NHL’s All-Star weekend. He was struck by an elderly driver outside the arena after playing in the YoungStars game.

He spent a night in a Miami-area hospital, returned to Phoenix on Sunday and had an MRI exam Monday. The MRI found a strained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

The 22-year-old player and two reporters from his native Finland were standing beside a taxicab Saturday night when a driver lost control of his car and hit them.

Authorities said Vesa Rantanen seriously injured his arm and Kimmo Romanoff sustained internal injuries. Rantanen, a renowned journalist in Finland, spent the night in intensive care and is in danger of losing an arm, and Romanoff suffered a collapsed lung, according to the Arizona Republic.

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Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert is being treated for substance abuse, the league said.