ARLINGTON, Va. — Washington Capitals forward Chris Clark will be sidelined at least three weeks with a stress fracture in his forearm, the latest injury setback for a team that had to recall four players from the minors for tonight's game against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Defensemen Karl Alzner and Sami Lepisto and forwards Chris Bourque and Graham Mink were recalled from Hershey of the AHL by the Capitals, who were missing seven players from their opening night roster by the end of Monday night's game against the Minnesota Wild.

Forwards Clark and Boyd Gordon and defensemen John Erskine and Jeff Schultz and were injured during the game. Defenseman Mike Green and forwards Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin did not suit up. None of the seven were expected to play Wednesday.

All of the injured are day to day except for Clark and Schultz, who has a broken finger and will be sidelined four to six weeks. Clark, who had a cast on his arm at the morning skatearound, won't return until mid-December at the earliest.

Lepisto made his NHL debut last season, playing seven games with the Capitals. Bourque had played five games with Washington over two seasons. Mink had played five games with the Capitals but none since the 2005-06 season. Alzner was poised to make his NHL debut tonight.