Zetterberg Has Back Surgery, Expected to Miss Eight Weeks

Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg underwent back surgery on Friday, the team announced. His recovery is expected to take eight weeks.

Of the procedure, Detroit assistant general manager Ryan Martin said, “It went very, very well. They removed part of a disc that was rubbing on a nerve. It was what they thought it was. The recovery process looks very, very positive.”

Zetterberg withdrew from the Olympics after one game as Sweden’s captain, citing a slightly herniated disk. He also missed 13 games with the Red Wings this season, including much of the month of December.

Should Zetterberg miss the expected eight weeks, his return would be during the first week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Red Wings currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, one point up on three teams for the final wild card playoff spot.