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Seidenberg To Undergo Back Surgery, Will Miss Up To 8 Weeks

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins will be without defenseman Dennis Seidenberg when the 2015-16 season gets underway in a couple of weeks.

Seidenberg is scheduled to undergo a lumbar microdiscectomy on Thursday to repair a herniated disc in his back, Bruins GM Don Sweeney announced on Wednesday. Boston expects Seidenberg to make a full recovery, but the procedure will sideline the blue liner for up to eight weeks.

That means Seidenberg will be out until mid-to-late November. The 34-year-old played all 82 games for Boston last season, averaging 22 minutes of ice time a night and finishing the year at a minus-one. It was the first time in his six seasons in Boston that Seidenberg finished with a negative rating.

While Seidenberg is far from where he was back in 2011 when he and Zdeno Chara formed one of the most-feared defensive combos in the NHL during the postseason, his absence will put a strain on a Boston blue line that no longer has Dougie Hamilton.

To start the season, the Bruins will have to rely on a defensive corps made up of Chara, Zach Trotman, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller and Matt Irwin.

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