Canadiens announce Shea Weber to undergo season-ending surgery

Injured Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber is set to miss the rest of the season.

All-star blueliner Shea Weber has missed the last 26 games of the season after suffering a foot injury. Now, it has been announced that Weber, 32, is set to undergo surgery to fix the problem. Unfortunately for both team and player, the surgery will put him out of action for the rest of the 2017-18 season.

It’s believed that the defenseman picked up the injury while blocking a shot in the first game of the season.

Weber managed to play on, featuring in 26 games for the Habs and putting up 16 points, but he struggled with ongoing issues related to the injury.

This week, he saw a specialist, and the worst-case scenario was confirmed. Now he will undergo surgery, which will repair a tear found in a tendon in Weber’s left foot.

It was originally believed that he was on the path to recovery and would return this season.

In a statement, the Montreal Canadiens announced:

"Following the diagnosis of Shea Weber’s injury, it was our belief that after a comprehensive rehabilitation protocol under the guidance of our medical team, Shea would be able to return to play this season.Unfortunately, after extensive efforts to heal Shea’s injury, progress has not been made as expected."

It was confirmed by the team that the decision was made after consulting with outside medical experts. It was also approved by Shea Weber himself.

Once the surgery has taken place a recovery time-frame will be set, but it is expected that Weber will be back at 100 percent health in time for training camp, ahead of the 2018-19 season.

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The bruising blueliner is in his second season with Montreal, after arriving in a blockbuster trade for P.K. Subban. The Canadiens have struggled without him this year and look set to miss the playoffs.