VOORHEES, N.J. — When hockey players get injured, the medical update is usually either “day-to-day,” 10-day injured reserve or long-term injured reserve.  In Owen Tippett’s case, it was really none of the above.

That’s because after Game 2 of the Carolina series, no one knew the severity of Tippett’s injuries — and that’s plural.

A week later, at Tuesday’s team exit interviews, Tippett was able to disclose what kept him out of the Hurricane series. The problems began during the Pittsburgh series when Tippett began to experience symptoms of a problem he couldn’t really pinpoint, which included internal bleeding.

“Obviously got tests,” he said during Tuesday’s player exit interviews at the Flyers Training Center. “Feeling better now. Ultimately, you guys saw I was skating. Just never got to the point where I could get cleared by the trainers and doctors.”

Tippett was able to take part in non-contact drills between games, but that only made the situation tougher. He ended up with internal bleeding and is dealing with the prospect of a sports hernia operation.

“I did not feel a hundred percent,” he said of the second-round experience. “I think it was after Game 6 (vs. Pittsburgh). I don’t remember the exact moment it happened.”

There was a real tug-of-war in Tippett’s head. He badly wanted to play, but doing so would put his health in serious jeopardy.

“It was really tough,” he said. “Obviously you put in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work. Any time you sit out for one game or a week, it’s tough to watch.

“To stay around the guys it helped a lot in terms of day-to-day stuff. But it’s something you can’t mess around with. Staying on the ice kept me at peace a little bit but it was kind of tough knowing I was not fully able to function.”

Tippett had an exceptional bounce-back season. He led the team during the regular season with 28 goals, which made it more difficult to watch his teammates from upstairs as the Hurricanes swept the series.

“I think I had a good bounce-back year after last year,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to get to the playoffs and get that experience. I think it’s only going to help us moving forward.”

• • •

Noah Cates enjoyed the best season of his career, but it came to a crashing stop when he suffered a broken fibula. He established career-highs in goals and points, plus he led the team with a plus-26.

“Took a shot off the foot, wasn’t good to go,” Cates said. “It’s an unfortunate bounce, kind of a nothing play.”

No surgery will be required. He can resume offseason training in about a month.

• • •

Rodrigo Abols suffered a broken fibula on Jan. 17, ending his season. He underwent surgery and is just about fully mended. But certainly not the way he wanted his season to end.

“Kind of a freak accident I guess,” he said. “Got caught, kind of pushed it out, it didn’t move and in turn my whole weight got put on that leg. I ended up breaking my fibula and damaging my deltoid (muscle).

“Two injuries in one, so a lot of damage there. All the rehab has helped me greatly. I’m ahead of schedule as to where I’m supposed to be. I’m thankful for that.”

• • •

Tyson Foerster was injured for 49 games but he said he would rather let general manager Daniel Briere talk about the details when he speaks to the media on Thursday.

• • •

The Flyers have 10 players are approaching some form of free agency. The restricted free agents are Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson and Nikita Grebenkin.

Unrestricted free agents are Abols, Luke Glendening, Garrett Wilson, Noah Juulsen and Carl Grundstrom.

The Flyers’ top priorities are Zegras and Drysdale. Zegras’ current contract is $5.75 million. Drysdale made $2.3 million last year.

As far back as the middle of the season, Zegras made it known he wants to stay here after a stellar first season coming over from Anaheim.

Can the two sides work something out?

“Personally, I would love that,” Zegras said. “I would love to be here for a long time. I would hope that would happen over the next couple months. I don’t know what the timeframe will be. But I love playing here, love the fans, love the group that we have. That would something I would be excited for.”