It appears David Backes’ illness was much more serious than originally expected.
The Boston Bruins forward will undergo surgery Thursday to remove a portion of his colon, team doctor Dr. David Finn said Wednesday in a statement. He’s expected to miss eight weeks of playing time.
Backes has been dealing with a nasty bout of diverticulitis that forced him to miss the Bruins’ first five games. He returned to action Oct. 19 against the Vancouver Canucks after being cleared by doctors and played in Boston’s next five contests, but the Bruins’ medical staff recently determined he couldn’t keep playing with the condition.
“David’s episode of diverticulitis at the beginning of the season was his second episode in two months and was complicated with an abscess (collection of infection adjacent to the colon) that required drainage,” Finn said.
“Repeated episodes, like what David experienced, have a very high likelihood of recurrence in the near term, which is why he was advised to have surgery to remove the area of colon causing the problem. It was determined that attempting to delay the surgery until after the season was an unacceptable risk to his health.”
The Bruins also recalled forward Jordan Szwarz and goaltender Zane McIntyre from Providence on an emergency basis Wednesday.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
