Knee Surgery Information

Ed Jovanovski will not get to defend the gold medal he helped the Canadian men’s hockey team win four years ago at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

The Vancouver Canucks’ defenceman will be sidelined anywhere from four to six weeks after undergoing a lower abdominal surgical procedure set for tomorrow in Philadelphia.

The exact nature of Jovanovski’s injury is uncertain, but Canucks officials said last night that surgery was necessary and needed to be done quickly.

“After further consultation with one of the leading physicians with regard to abdominal sports injuries [Dr. William Myers], it was decided that surgery was the best course of action,” Canucks general manager David Nonis said in a news release. “The best long-term decision for Eddie and our hockey club was to have the surgery immediately.”

Unavailable for comment yesterday, Jovanovski had missed 11 National Hockey League games with what was listed as a groin injury before returning to the Canucks’ lineup last Monday against the St. Louis Blues. He logged a little more than 22 minutes of ice time in that game.

The following night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jovanovski appeared to reinjure himself early in the game. He left for the dressing room and did not return to action.

Jovanovski skipped Saturday’s game in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche and flew to Philadelphia to meet with Myers, who has examined and operated on National Basketball Association players, National Football League players and other NHL players.

Jovanovski’s injury had the hierarchy of Canada’s Olympic hockey team discussing what to do about its suddenly depleted defence corps.

Bryan McCabe of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been out with groin problems but could play tonight when the Leafs take on the Lightning in Tampa. McCabe was enjoying a banner year — 15 goals and 34 assists in 42 games — when he suffered a partial groin tear on Jan. 8.

The hard-shooting McCabe had been named to Canada’s three-man taxi squad for the Turin Games.

Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks was also selected to the Canadian Olympic team and has fallen victim to a sore knee that may require arthroscopic surgery.

Niedermayer, whose skating and puck-handling have proven essential to Canada’s power play in the past, could choose to have the surgery done during the Olympics so he can be healthy for the last 1½ months of the NHL’s regular season.

The other choice is to compete at the Olympics and have surgery once the Ducks’ season ends.

If Niedermayer opts for an immediate fix, Canada may have to add two defencemen to its roster and a third to its taxi squad.

The possibilities include Scott Hannan of the San Jose Sharks; Tampa Bay’s Dan Boyle; Jay Bouwmeester of the Florida Panthers; and Calgary Flames rookie Dion Phaneuf.

All four have played for Canada internationally, although Phaneuf’s involvement was at the 2005 world junior championship.

Along with Jovanovski, the Canucks have lost their starting goaltender, Dan Cloutier, for the balance of the season with a torn knee ligament.

Knee Surgery

Knee Surgery News