Per CSN Bay Area, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson has issued a statement on the status of injured forward Raffi Torres:
“Raffi continues to work on rehabilitating his knee and is progressing well. After additional medical examination and in consultation with his agent, Eustace King, it has been determined that Raffi will forego any additional surgery at this time. Many NHL players have previously taken the same approach to recovering from a similar injury with success. We expect Raffi to continue his rehabilitation in San Jose in the near future. There is no set timeline for Raffi’s return to game action at this time.”
Torres originally had ACL surgery in September of 2013, only for his knee to later become infected, thus necessitating the removal of the graft that had been implanted in the original operation.
The plan as of this past summer was to repeat the surgical procedure, which he was supposed to have last month, but never did.
It’s not clear why the decision was made to forego a repeat of the surgery. Perhaps Torres was wary of another infection. Or, it may be that avoiding surgery will mean a quicker return to the ice.
Torres hasn’t played since Game 7 of the Sharks’ first-round loss to the Kings in April. He only played five regular-season games in 2013-14.
The 33-year-old is signed through next season at a cap hit of $2 million.