Kuzya’s new avatar on Twitter. Wait, when did he get back on Twitter?

The start of the 2013-14 season has not gone very well for Evgeny Kuznetsov. In his first game, against the defending Gagarin Cup champions Dynamo Moscow, he put up a minus-4, garnering special recognition from Traktor’s head coach during the post-game press conference.

But Kuznetsov’s second game turned out to be even more of a disaster. He went hard into the boards just 30 seconds into the game and did not return. Shortly afterwards, Kuznetsov paid a visit to his favorite shoulder specialist, Dr. Emlich in Munich. Kuzya’s left shoulder joint (the same one Dr Emlich fixed a couple of years ago) was found to have sustained a tear in the capsule, and after additional tests today, Kuznetsov underwent a successful surgery.

Here is what he told Alexei Shevchenko of AllSportInfo.ru:

I had a second evaluation at the clinic in Munich. Doctor Stefan Emlich checked out the nerve in my shoulder. Luckily, there was no damage. So the decision was made to go ahead with the surgery – to accelerate the return to hockey. The surgery took place today, everything was successful. I am not even sure how long it took, because I fell asleep at 12.30 and woke up three and a half hours later. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to doctor Emlich. He has hands of gold! I plan to return to Russia next week.

In two months or so, Kuzya’s shoulder should be as good as new, and we will never have to write about it again.