Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust is expected to be sidelined for some time after he sustained a concerning upper-body injury early this December.

Rust suffered the injury on December 6 while the Penguins were facing the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had to leave the game in the second period as a result of the health setback and did not return.

While the Penguins have not revealed the nature of his injury, the team listed him as week-to-week, per Josh Hoye of The Athletic. This means that Rust won't suit up in Pittsburgh's three games this week, with his availability for the next still to be determined.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan expressed his disappointment for Rust and the team over the painful news, emphasizing that he knows very well how much the 31-year-old winger wants to play. Not to mention that Rust is a big part of their offense.

“We know how much he wants to be on the ice, how competitive he is, and he wants to play. It's disappointing for all of us. We utilize him in so many capacities, he's a hard guy to replace,” Sullivan shared.

Bryan Rust has tallied 10 goals and 20 points, along with 10 assists in 22 games for the Penguins this 2023-24 season. Sure enough, as Mike Sullivan said, that's not something they will be able to easily replace.

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Hopes are high that Rust will be able to return sooner rather than later. As the Penguins wait for his recovery, though, Sullivan highlighted that all they can do right now is focus on what they have and who's present. Aside from Rust, Pittsburgh is also dealing with injuries to Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Chad Ruhwedel.

“The expectations are we have what it takes to win games and guys are going to get opportunities to play more significant roles. It's up to them to maximize those opportunities. They should get excited about it. That’s where we're at,” Sullivan furthered, via NHL.com.

“Rather than focus on the guys that are out of the lineup, we're trying to focus on the guys, right now, that are in the lineup.”

It will certainly be tough for the Penguins–who are on a four-game-losing streak–after losing another key player, but for now, they will have to be patient. The rest of the team will also have to step up and hold the fort as they await for some good news on the injury front.