Jason Spezza injury: Senators forward to undergo back surgery, according to report

Spezza sustained a back injury in January, which required surgery. While attempting to strengthen the area, Spezza sustained a torn meniscus in his knee in March. This development required him to miss more time. He will have the area scoped over the course of the next week and is expected to be fully healed in two-to-three weeks.

In March, Renaud Lavoie of RDS reported that Spezza had experienced a setback, which the Senators denied. However, Lavoie indicated a sore back was the source of the setback, not an injured knee.

The Ottawa Senators were just getting used to the idea of hearing good news involving injuries. Just recently, they’ve watched Craig Anderson, Jared Cowen and -- most shockingly -- Erik Karlsson return to their lineup. It appears, at least for today, that bad news has returned.

Star forward Jason Spezza will not return to the Ottawa lineup for their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens. According to Senators general manager Bryan Murray, Spezza is improving, but Ottawa would have to make a bit of a run this post-season for him to return. “I suspect we would probably have to go a little distance (in the playoffs) for that to happen,” the GM said on Monday.

Head coach Paul MacLean announced that Michalek had suffered a setback and would be considered day-to-day, which has forced him to miss the last two games, in addition to the two games he is expected to miss this weekend.

The potential concern with this lingering issue is that Michalek already stated he will require knee surgery at the end of the season. Some have wondered if he might require the surgery earlier if these issues continue to keep him out of the lineup.

Spezza will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.