Back Injury May Sideline Lemieux for 3 Months

The Pittsburgh Penguins, who faltered in the final weeks of last season without Mario Lemieux, are facing the first three months of this season without their star center.

Lemieux is in a Pittsburgh hospital for tests and treatment of an inflammation in his spinal column.

“The good news is it’s very treatable,” Dr. Charles Burke said Thursday. “The bad news is he won’t be able to play for six to eight weeks and most probably it will be eight to 10 weeks.”

Burke has prescribed complete rest and antibiotics for Lemieux, who turns 25 on Oct. 5, the date of the Penguins’ opening game. The doctor said Lemieux will not be allowed to exert himself fully for at least six weeks.

Lemieux, the club’s leading scorer, was bothered by back pain that extended into his legs last season. It caused him to miss 21 games, in which the Penguins were 5-12-4.

Doctors tried a therapy program to avoid surgery, then decided in early summer that an operation would be necessary. Lemieux had surgery in July to remove part of a herniated disk and had been making what doctors said was a normal recovery.

By mid-August, progress had slowed. Recently his discomfort increased and he was sent back to the hospital to repeat the tests he had had before the surgery.