"It had taken Ryan Kesler almost 13 months from the day he opened his Twitter account on July 9, 2010 to reach 100 tweets. So it seemed a little curious when just recently the Vancouver Canucks centre had sent no less than 20 messages via the social networking site in a span of only a few days. Well, mystery solved.

It turns out the Selke winner has had some extra time on his hands after undergoing successful hip labral surgery on July 25. It's expected to take 10-12 weeks to recover from the procedure, making Kesler doubtful for Vancouver's home and regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 6 at Rogers Arena.

Both the Canucks and Kesler – who suffered the injury during the playoffs, most likely in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against San Jose when racing for a puck against Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle – had hoped to avoid surgery. But with no real improvement over the past six weeks, along with a high likelihood of continued problems, it was decided by all that it was best for him to go under the knife.

"At the conclusion of the playoffs Ryan went through a post-season examination and at the time our medical staff felt that the nature of his injury was such that it would heal through rehabilitation," said Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman. "However as the weeks progressed it appeared rehabilitation wasn't working so surgery was the best alternative. We anticipate he'll be ready to return in or around the start of the season."

It's the second such surgery for the 26-year-old in the past four years. Kesler needed 72 days – or a little more than 10 weeks – to recover from a similar injury during the 2006-07 season. Colorado specialist Dr. Marc Philippon performed both procedures.

The labrum is the soft elastic tissue that follows the outside of the hip joint. It helps to provide stability to the joint while allowing flexibility and motion. Symptoms of a labrum muscle tear include hip pain or a "catching" sensation in the hip joint, according to the Mayo clinic's website."