VOORHEES, N.J. -- Philadelphia right wing Mark Recchi will be sidelined three to five weeks with a sprained right knee, an injury that could cause him to miss the Flyers' regular-season opener Oct. 10.

	Recchi

Recchi, who injured the knee in an intrasquad scrimmage on Monday, was diagnosed with a sprain of the medial collateral ligament.

Both Recchi and Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock were relieved by the results of an MRI. They feared a much longer stay on the injured list.

"It's disappointing, but I was actually kind of excited with the news,'' Recchi said Tuesday. "I was a little worried it would be worse.''

Recchi said he will wear a brace on his knee during rehabilitation and hopes to be back on skates in a couple weeks. It's the first knee injury of his 15-year career.

"It's going to be how I feel,'' Recchi said. "Hopefully, things will go well in the next couple of weeks and I can get on the ice and I can get out there without the stopping and starting initially. It's going to be the stopping and quick pivots that are obviously going to bother me.''

Hitchcock looked at the positive side. Recchi's conditioning is so good that he won't be that affected by the time off, Hitchcock said. And it will give rookies Pavel Brendl and Radovan Somik more ice time during preseason games.

Recchi was in better spirits than he was on Monday.

"It was a little scary for me yesterday,'' he said. "I never had it before. I know there was a pop and it hurt and obviously I knew that wasn't good. I just went off. It was a little scary. Guys who have had it probably have a better feel for it. But I just have nothing to go back on. So it was kind of frustrating in that way.''

The Flyers also said defenseman Chris McAllister, who had his nose broken in a fight with teammate Keith Primeau on Monday, had surgery on Tuesday. McAllister will be sidelined for the Flyers' first three preseason games and then have to wear a protective shield for about a week when he returns.