Ottawa Senators defenceman Filip Kuba underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc Tuesday, putting his return to the line-up this season in jeopardy.
General manager Bryan Murray admitted that his team would have to go “deep into the second round” of the playoffs in order for Kuba to even have a chance of returning.
“At this point, we suspect he’s out for at least the next four weeks,” Murray said. “He was having a fair amount of pain and he just felt that surgery was the right thing to do.”
The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Kuba will return to Ottawa to begin a rehabilitation program with the Senators training staff.
The defenseman was bothered by a sore back earlier in the season, but he apparently re-aggravated the injury in a game against Finland during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Since returning from the Olympics, Kuba appeared in just two games – most recently on March 18th. The club was hoping that rest and rehabilitation would solve the issue with his back, but it became clear within the last two weeks that surgery was a necessity.
Kuba appeared in 53 games for the Sens this season, scoring three goals with 25 assists.
Murray indicated that the club will likely recall defenseman Brian Lee to serve as a backup as the playoff run begins next week.
