Concerned Kariya to See Specialist

Paul Kariya, uncomfortable with the progress of his rehabilitation, will travel to Vancouver today to consult with abdominal specialist Ross Davidson and doesn’t expect to rejoin the team until it returns to Anaheim at the end of their five-game trip.

Kariya will be examined Tuesday by Davidson, one of the top specialists in his field, and begin working with personal physical therapist Alex McKechnie.

“A lot of people have told me, ‘Only you can say when you’re ready.’ I’d know if I was ready to play, and I’m not,” said Kariya, who has been rehabilitating from an abdominal muscle injury for more than two months.

Despite positive results from an MRI last week, Kariya believes he is still being hampered by the injury and not simply by soreness in the groin area.

“I know muscle soreness,” Kariya said. “You know your own body. It doesn’t take me this long to get back.”

Kariya was skating without pain at first, but began experiencing unusual soreness in the groin area as he intensified his workouts.

A prolonged absence could hurt the Ducks, who rely on Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

Coach Ron Wilson still thought it was possible Kariya might rejoin the team on the trip.

“You know, he’s getting better, but slower than Paul wants,” Wilson said. “He’s impatient.”

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Garry Valk, recovering from an elbow injury, empathizes with Kariya.

“The hardest thing coming back from an injury is knowing what your body can take and can’t take,” Valk said. “I’ve been hurt with him, and we’ve skated every day. He looks like he’s skating fine. But I don’t know his body like he does, and he comes in the next day sore and tired. That’s hard. For him, it’s like a bad back. Who really knows who has a bad back except that person? He feels the pressure too. He’s up there in the press box making every save, acting like he’s taking every shot.”