Brind'Amour has knee surgery
Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour underwent successful surgery on his left knee this morning to repair torn cartilage, but he is expected to be on the ice before the team's season opener.
"It was a little house-cleaning procedure," general manager Jim Rutherford said. "It was expected. We felt it was best to have it performed now instead of, say, the start of the season.
"He'll be out a few weeks and will miss most of training camp. But we don't have any concerns about Roddy. He's always working out and he has been skating hard, and he'll be ready opening night."
The Canes open the regular season Oct. 10.
Brind'Amour, 38, missed the final 22 games of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, requiring reconstructive surgery.
Brind'Amour participated in the Friesen 5K Fun Run on Sunday.
Chip Alexander
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
Comments
Could have happened anytime.
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 08:07 — Fred (not verified)I actually think it could be a good thing that he ran in the 5k. That finally convinced everyone that he needs to have a minor cleanup procedure - minor. It could have happened at any point during the preseason or early season. Good thing it happened now.
Good luck Rod #17!
Rod's Limp
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 20:39 — Anonymous (not verified)If you had run into Rod this summer you would have noticed he was limping even before the 5K. I wonder if the cartilage tear was already there, but was made worse by the run. You can bet he'll be exercising as soon as possible.
He should baby himself--he's still the man...
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 20:17 — Anonymous (not verified)20-20 hindsight is great, but someone made a bad decision: Pounding the pavement was not a good idea. His knee will never be "good as new"--no one's is after resconstructive surgery. Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise--a wake up call that he really needs to listen to his body and not push himself beyond his limits. He's in great shape and appears to be as motivated as ever--but he's 38 and not 28. We all wish him well--and look forward to his return to begin the season on October 10th.
We need our Captain!
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 19:55 — CaniacLady17No matter what the circumstances were that brought on the need for this surgery, my prayers and best wishes go out to Roddy that he will, indeed, recover quickly and be ready for the season opener. The pre-season games won't be as much fun to watch without the Captain, but Oct 10 is not really that far away! We need our Captain strong and healed!!
Captain Rod's Knee
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 19:49 — esteban1949Shocked !! I am shocked ! but i respond to the article section and said that in doing some research, and while i felt the same way...why run...even a 5k race...but I see the rational behind the procedure...it still stinks...but all I can and will say is: Get Well and Heal real Good before you lace up them skates Captain...
Go Canes !!
Why would he wait until days
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 14:50 — Anonymous (not verified)Why would he wait until days before the opening of Training camp to do this when this could have been done anytime during the summer?
Chip....exactly where did you get that quote
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 18:43 — Anonymous (not verified)If you are quoting JR....was that an exclusive interview you had with him? He didn't say anything about RB surgery being "expected"on the interview posted on the Canes official site.
Explain yourself please.
Forslund's comments
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 08:45 — JRs_FaultJohn Forslund was interviewed on XM yesterday morning, prior to the team announcing the surgery. He said that the team would be announcing the news later on Tuesday, and they did. John also gave the impression that this procedure was planned even prior to the the 5K. He described it as a a cleanup that isn't unusual after the major surgery that was performed earlier.
IMHO, I doubt running a 5K was the reason for the procedure. I also seriously doubt it was the worst abuse Rod put his knee through during this rehab.
Let's see...you're planning
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 09:35 — Anonymous (not verified)Let's see...you're planning on having your knee scoped on Tuesday so you run a 5K the weekend before.
Yeah, right.
Actually, yeah right
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 14:24 — JRs_FaultLook, we're talking about a career athlete and a top rung gym rat here. Even among his peers, Rod is legendary for his workouts... I'm ten years older than him, and I can complete a 5K (on knees that are certified arthritic) in less than 30 mins. I doubt it took him nearly that long, especially considering it was said that he was 'low Cane' in the race (did anybody see his time??)
Seriously, do you think he doesn't spend more than 30 mins on the bike/doing leg excercises, etc. everyday in the name of rehab??
So yeah, right.
Actually, yeah right
Thu, 09/18/2008 - 18:06 — Anonymous (not verified)Yeah, dude runs stairs at the RBC Center with a weight vest. He can handle a 5k around the parking lot. I think the lead times among the Canes runners were somewhere around the 20-21 minute mark.
Leg exercises?
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 20:37 — Anonymous (not verified)Leg exercises? Absolutely. Running? Not so much. It's impact vs. non impact. I'm pretty confident that running isn't a usual part of Rod's work. There is no way someone as knowledgable about his body as Rod is would do a bunch of impact work a few days before a scope. Extra inflammation is not what you need.
It wasn't scheduled.
upon further review I
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 16:28 — Anonymous (not verified)upon further review I understand that this became apparent and necessary after the 5k...
Still not happy about it but, it is what is.
If you really think this was planned....
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 16:03 — Anonymous (not verified)You must be an idiot.
Why he was allowed to run in
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 11:48 — Anonymous (not verified)Why he was allowed to run in that 5K is beyond me. He was limping badly when it was over. Now we hear about more surgery. Great. Wonder if this explains why the vast majority of the team disappeared as soon as the run ended, unlike last year's run. Less players around for people to drill about Roddy's bad limp after the race.
a 5K did him in???
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 12:12 — Anonymous (not verified)Can you really blame a 5K? If Rod couldn't run 3 miles, do you really think he was going to play 20+ min per night for 80+ games?
Not good news...
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 11:13 — Mike (not verified)The team can downplay this all they want. I'm sure Rod's conditioning will not suffer, and will help speed his recovery, but the fact is that this will throw off his timing, and the timing of his linemates when he does return to the ice. My hope is that he can be back at full speed at least a week before the opener to get in synch with everyone else.
Heal quickly, Capitan!