HC Lugano will be without forward Giovanni Morini for the first few weeks of the new season.
The 29-year-old Italian with a Swiss license has not yet recovered sufficiently from the fractured femur in his right leg he suffered in January. According to the club, Morini will only be available again after the national team break in November for the Ticino team, which starts its championship campaign with an away game against Zug on September 17.
Lugano has responded to the absence by loaning 21-year-old forward Liekit Reichle from league rivals Biel.