The Montreal Canadiens will be forward Arturri Lehkonen for an extended period due to a lower-body injury.

Head coach Claude Julien said after Tuesday's loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, which Lehkonen was scratched from, the winger will be out indefinitely after trying to play through the injury.

“It’s something he’s been playing with for a while, and he’s done a good job of playing with that injury,” Julien said, per the Montreal Gazette. “But it’s coming to the point where it was unbearable and we needed to shut him down. If we want him to be better, we had to shut him down. So, it was the right move to make, I guess, at this time. Give him credit, he tried his best to play through it.

"Right now, we don’t know how long, so he’s out indefinitely.”

Lehkonen owns two goals and five points while averaging 16:36 of ice time in 18 games with the Canadiens this season. 

The 22-year-old scored 18 goals and posted 28 points in 73 games last season. He added two goals and two assists in four playoff games.

Lehkonen was selected in the second round (55th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Canadiens.