"Top-line center Ryan Getzlaf, recovering from Wednesday surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle, anticipates being in the lineup when the Ducks open the 2009-10 NHL regular-season Oct. 3 against the rival San Jose Sharks at Honda Center.

Getzlaf isn't so sure about his status for the Sept. 13 opening of training camp.

"We'll see how it goes, whether I'm at full bore at camp," Getzlaf said by telephone Monday from near his off-season home in Kelowna, British Columbia. "The main thing is to be at full bore opening night."

Getzlaf, who traced the origin of the problem to last season but said it did not hamper him during the Stanley Cup playoffs, became the fifth player the Ducks have sent to renowned Philadelphia-based Dr. William Meyers for similar sports-hernia type surgeries in little more than two years. Recovery times have varied.

Center Todd Marchant underwent a procedure near the end of the 2006-07 regular season and after missing the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, returned 35 days later to play in every game over the final two rounds as the Ducks captured the Stanley Cup championship.

Former Ducks center Samuel Pahlsson needed the exact same recovery period after having a sports-hernia surgery shortly before the opening of training camp in 2007, but subsequently encountered abdominal inflammation that shelved him for 21 games midway through the 2007-08 season. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who had his procedure a month before Pahlsson, needed nearly 10 weeks before returning to game action."