It’s been a slow start to Alex Galchenyuk’s first season with the Penguins, as the left winger battles a lower-body injury and, more recently, a spider bite.

TSN reported Wednesday that Galchenyuk suffered an allergic reaction after being bit by a spider. The 25-year-old was initially battling a lower-body injury that he sustained in training camp, which has kept him out of the Penguins’ lineup the last four games.

Galchenyuk, who was traded from the Coyotes to the Penguins this past offseason in exchange for Phil Kessel, is expected to return as soon as he recovers from the allergic reaction, which was not considered overly serious.

“This is going from the sublime to the ridiculous,” NHL insider Bob McKenzie said during the first intermission of NBSCN’s broadcast of the Penguins-Avalanche game. “Galchenyuk was dealing with a soft tissue injury, believed to be a groin injury suffered in training camp. His rehab and recovery from that has been stalled because —get this — [he was] bit by a spider.

“Quite a significant allergic reaction to that spider bite and that really put off some of the rehab and recovery he was doing. But he’s now on the road to recovery, they’re hoping another week or two for him.”

With the additional absences of forwards Evgeni Malkin, Nick Bjugstad, Jared McCann and Bryan Rust, the Penguins need Galchenyuk sooner rather than later.