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However, Boeser had soreness following that game, didn’t practise the next day at UBC and only took a brief pre-practice twirl in Detroit on Nov. 5; he hasn’t been on the ice since.

An adductor muscle strain is an acute injury to the groin muscles on the medial aspect (inside) of the thigh. Although several different muscles can be injured, the most common are the adductor longus, medius and magnus, and the gracilis muscle.

The adductor longus belongs to a group of hip adductor muscles and is located in the inner part of the thigh. The function is to control the movement inward and to the sides of the thigh bone.

Bo Horvat seconded Green’s view in that at least there can be a plan for full recovery because the ailment has been properly assessed.

“To know he’s been lingering with pain, and to get an answer now, it’s a little bit more satisfying that we know something is wrong and let it heal and come back stronger,” said the Canucks’ centre.

“I’ve never had it. You get sore groins all the time, but if Brock could play, he’d play.”

Those who don’t get a full summer of off-season training can be susceptible to strains early in the NHL season. Boeser’s rookie season ended March 5 with a back injury and he wasn’t up to full skating speed — and completely over a bothersome wrist — until July when he competed and dominated the Minnesota-based Da Beauty League.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have full summers of training and it is tough when you don’t have a full summer to get your full strength,” added Horvat.