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Bruins’ David Backes out 8 weeks after surgery to remove part of colon

Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 12: David Backes #42 of the Boston Bruins skates during the NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on December 12, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Boston Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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David Backes missed the start of the 2017-18 NHL season after undergoing treatment for diverticulitis. He returned to play five games for the Boston Bruins but will now miss an another eight weeks, the team announced on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Backes will have surgery to remove a portion of his colon to help manage his diverticulitis.

From Bruins Team Internist Dr. David Finn:

“The decision to have surgery was made in consultation with team physicians as well as outside specialists in the management of diverticulitis. 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. 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.

“David was cleared to play in the team’s games on October 19 while waiting for his colon to properly heal from the most recent episode of diverticulitis which sidelined him for the first five games of the 2017-18 season. David was at no additional risk while playing during this period, and he is having the surgery as soon as the medical team felt comfortable moving forward with the operation.”


While this may put a big bump into the 33-year-old Backes’ season, this is certainly the best direction to take for his long-term health.

Given that Backes, who has three years left on a deal signed last summer, will be sidelined for a couple of months, does this mean more yardwork ahead for Charlie McAvoy?

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.