RALEIGH — Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk turned 21 Wednesday, the same day he learned he would be sidelined two to four weeks with a sprained knee.

Faulk suffered a second-degree sprain of a medial collateral ligament during Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena. He was placed on injured reserve along with Chad LaRose, who has missed nine games with a concussion.

Faulk’s injury came in the second period of the Canes’ 4-1 loss when he made a pass behind the Carolina net and was checked along the boards by Panthers forward Jack Skille. He was able to skate back to the bench.

Faulk leads the Hurricanes in ice time per game at 23 minutes, 23 seconds, and has a plus-3 plus/minus rating.

The Hurricanes on Wednesday recalled 6-foot-4 defenseman Brett Bellemore from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. He is in his fourth professional season and will make his NHL debut.

Bellemore leads the Checkers in plus-minus (plus-12) and penalty minutes (85) in 62 games this season.