Red Wings' Zetterberg has back surgery, out for eight weeks

Reuters
Sweden's Henrik Zetterberg (40) celebrates his goal with teammates Alexander Steen (20) and Gabriel Landeskog (92) during the second period of their men's preliminary round hockey game against the Czech Republic at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

(Reuters) - Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, who last week was ruled out of Sweden's bid for ice hockey glory at the Sochi Olympics with a herniated disc, had back surgery on Friday, the National Hockey League team said. Zetterberg, who played through pain and scored a goal in Sweden's 4-2 win over Czech Republic in their opening game at the Winter Games before returning to the United States for treatment, will be re-evaluated after eight weeks. The 33-year-old center, who had been appointed as Sweden's ice hockey captain in Sochi, has had recurring back issues for years and suffered a herniated disc last December. Zetterberg, the Most Valuable Player of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, has missed 13 games during the 2013-14 season due to injury, but leads the Red Wings with 48 points (16 goals and 32 assists) in 45 games. He is now likely to miss most of Detroit's stretch run in the regular season. The (26-20-12) Red Wings are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, sitting eighth in the 16-team Eastern Conference. Sweden, meanwhile, have reached the Sochi Olympics men's ice hockey final and will take on Canada in a battle for gold on Sunday. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Larry Fine)