ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild star winger Marian Gaborik had minor arthroscopic surgery on his right hip on Friday to relieve "irritation" that bothered him for most of the season.
The surgery was performed at Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo., and the team expects Gaborik to be ready for training camp.
The surgery was to repair a torn labrum and relieve some pressure on Gaborik's hip. The injury will keep him from playing for Slovakia in this month's IIHF World Hockey Championship.
Gaborik, who is entering the final year of his contract, will spend 10 days to two weeks in Colorado and then return to the Twin Cities to continue his rehabilitation, Wild general manager Doug Risebrough said.
Risebrough said Gaborik felt "irritation" nearly all of last season, when he scored a career-high 42 goals, including five in one game against the New York Rangers. But Gaborik decided to play through it and said it didn't affect him in the playoffs, when he was held without a goal in a six-game loss to Colorado in the opening round.
"It was just more of an irritation," Risebrough said. "It wasn't affecting his skating, and he skated well in the series."