Flyers forward Gagne out for two months

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne will have surgery on a hernia injury and will be out for six to eight weeks, the NHL team said on Monday.

"It's hard to take because you try to stay away from surgery during the season. The off-season is there for that," said Gagne.

"There is never a good time for surgery but it's still early in the season. I'll be ready to have a strong end to the season and be 100 percent and ready for the playoffs," he told the team's website (flyers.nhl.com).

The All-Star left-wing had hip surgery in the off-season but was still short of his best this year and his latest setback came after Sunday's loss to the San Jose Sharks.

(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Alastair Himmer)