panoo

The Sports Network
8/25/2007 7:24:15 PM

Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Nashville Predators forward Steve Sullivan will miss the first three months of the upcoming season due to ongoing back problems.

Sullivan, who has not played since February 22 due to a back injury, underwent a second operation Thursday and is expected to miss three months while recovering. The original surgery to repair a defragmented disk took place on June 27.

Sullivan has spent the off-season training and rehabbing his back and core muscles with trainer Alex McKegney.

However, he was still experiencing pain and went back to Dr. Robert Bray, a neurosurgeon who performed the original surgery, and it was determined there was a defragmentation of the disk, requiring the second operation.

"The rehab was going well until the last week or so when, in his words, Steve would get to a point where he could not 'break through the ceiling', said Nashville general manager David Poile said. "He could not get through the last extension of his back without pain."

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Quintessence

And it just keeps getting worse in Nashville. Somehow I'm starting to picture the Preds as a non-playoff team this year.

Adsfan

This will hurt the Preds up front along with the loss of Kariya and Hartnell.