Foppa went under the surgeon's knife yesterday in Charlotte, N.C.

Robert Anderson, an orthopedist, who specializes in foot injuries, performed the first of two surgeries on Peter Forsberg.

This surgery repaired Foppa's right ankle.

Let me say right off, I have been getting emails from people who have had similar surgery. They insist there's no way Forsberg will play by next January. That's eight months from now. They tell me each ankle needs 6 months recovery. Separately. It's the separate part which lengthens the amount of down time.

I talked to someone who is familiar with the procedure. He said the same thing. Forsberg will undergo the second surgery to his left ankle in about six weeks. Six weeks is being overly optimistic, according to these people.

I hope they're wrong. But it would not surprise me if Forsberg didn't play until the very end of next season or just the playoffs. Remember he missed the regular season once but came back to play in the playoffs for Colorado?

Regardless, I am now 100 percent convinced Forsberg will sign a one or two-year extension because he will owe the Flyers nearly a year on his deal because of all the missed time with injuries. Of course, the big question here is this: if you are the Flyers, do you offer Forsberg an extension without knowing whether these surgeries are successful? Wouldn't it be prudent to wait until he is recovered, see if he can play and then decide on re-signing him? Those are questions for down the road.

Here's a full transcript from pool reporter Wayne Fish, who spoke to Flyers' trainer Jim McCrossin yesterday after the procedure. McCrossin accompanied Forsberg to Carolina. Thanks to the Flyers for making the transcript available:

Q - How did it go today?

McCrossin: It went very well actually. Dr. Anderson came in about 20 after 6 and he was very, very pleased with how the procedure went.
Obviously Peter had to have some bones shifted in his foot to get proper alignment and that went very well. He had the ligaments that he tore, that were lax, strengthened. Dr. Anderson couldn't have been more pleased.

Q -Peter was saying this is an uncommon condition for athletes. How rare is it?

McCrossin: It's uncommon for hockey players because of the stability of the boot. If you ask Dr. Anderson or Dr. [Thomas] Clanton down in Houston, they say that in basketball, players with high arches, it's common. As far as [other] sports, it's uncommon. Don't quote me on this, but both said they haven't done [surgery] on a hockey player with this.

Q -What's the outlook?

McCrossin: Dr. Anderson is very optimistic that Peter will find the ankle the way he wants it now. It's straight.

Q -Could you go over the total rehab?

McCrossin: The reason for that [doing each ankle separately] is to allow time for the bone to heal from the first operation on the right side so he can put some weight on it. Otherwise he would be wheelchair-bound. The doctors don't want that to happen. They want him up and moving about. The second operation will take place in approximately six weeks [possibly as early as four weeks]. Then four weeks in cast, four weeks on crutches, then four weeks in a walking boot. Plus rehab. You have to make sure the bone is completely healed and the ligaments are completely healed. The worst case scenario is the first of the year. Likelihood the first of the year.

Q - Are you confident he will be much better off after the surgeries?

McCrossin: That's a great question.We were sitting here chatting on the plane [on the flight down] and I was saying, 'you're not going to know what to do with your new feet.' He said, 'Yeah, I know what I'm going to do. For the first time in seven years, I'll be able to skate the way I can skate. My foot is not going to be rolling up and I'll be strong again.' Throughout the whole season I spoke with Peter I felt bad. There wasn't much we could do. We tried everything that we knew we could do other than surgery now. As I always said, who wouldn't want to help Peter Forsberg? This is going to be great. With Peter's ankles the way they should be and not rolling out. . .hopefully this is going to reduce the risk of groin and abdominal strains for this poor guy.

Q - What are key rehab points?

McCrossin: The first thing is range of motion, get the range of motion back. That's the most important thing. And maintain his conditioning to the NHL level. So that when he comes back, he's ready to go right back into practicing with the team. Part of his rehab will be skating, that's a long way away, but skating the way he did seven years ago.

McCrossin also said Dr. Anderson removed both bursa sacs on the ankle because they were swollen and to reduce infection.