Red Wings Keep Everyone Guessing On Status Of Injured Yzerman

Maybe he’s having surgery and maybe he isn’t. Maybe he’ll play this week, and maybe not until mid-June.

There were a lot of maybes Monday after the Detroit Red Wings issued a terse release about injured captain Steve Yzerman, then refused further comment.

Yzerman had been expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery early this week to repair slightly torn cartilage in his right knee, the Red Wings physician told The Detroit News.

Yzerman hurt his knee, which went under the knife in 1988, during Saturday night’s victory over the San Jose Sharks.

But Monday, the team would not say if he would have the operation and also was vague about his return. The Red Wings open the Western Conference Finals Thursday against visiting Chicago.

In their statement, the team said Dr. David Collon examined Yzerman.

“It was determined that the team captain would be able to rejoin the lineup within two weeks,” the statement said. “No further details are available.”

Detroit spokesman Bill Jamieson said he could not say if Yzerman required surgery or if he already had undergone the operation.