Habs' Anderson out estimated 2-4 weeks

Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson left Thursday's matchup with the Colorado Avalanche because of an upper-body injury and did not return.

Josh Anderson ne reviendra pas au jeu ce soir (haut du corps).

Josh Anderson will not return tonight (upper body).

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 3, 2021

Anderson appeared to sustain the injury after being dumped into the endboards by Kurtis MacDermid from behind in the first period.

The 27-year-old played 7:20 of action before departing. The Avs went on to win the matchup 4-1.

After the game, head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters Anderson is expected to miss two to four weeks. Forward Laurent Dauphin has been recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket.

Anderson has seven goals and six assists in 24 games so far this season, his second with the Habs since coming over in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Meanwhile, Ducharme confirmed to reporters that both forward Brendan Gallagher and defenceman Sami Niku are positive for COVID-19 and will be out at least 10 days.

#Habs Ducharme confirms Gallagher and Niku are COVID-positive. They’ll be out 10 days. @TSN_Edge

— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) December 3, 2021

The Canadiens will be back in action Saturday in Nashville against the Predators.