New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox won't return to Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes due to a lower-body injury, the team announced.

Fox was injured after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho in the first period. The blue-liner was slow to get up but got to his feet under his own power. No penalty was called on the play.

Fox stayed on the ice to finish his shift and took another brief shift soon after, but he ultimately departed with just over five minutes remaining in the frame.

He registered one shot in six minutes of ice time before exiting.

The 25-year-old entered Thursday's action tied for the scoring lead among all blue-liners with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in nine games. Fox is also New York's most important minute-muncher, averaging 22:44 per contest.

The Rangers also lost Filip Chytil to an upper-body injury against the Hurricanes.

Fox won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2021 and was named a finalist for the hardware last season.

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