Evgeny Plushenko's back injury does not require surgery and can be treated with physiotherapy and acupuncture, a doctor for the European skating champion told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
After winning gold at the championships in Sheffield, England, earlier this month, Plushenko underwent surgery on his left knee in Munich, Germany.
He had anticipated needing to go under the knife again for a hernia that had been found in his spine, but Tweeted ecstatically on Monday that an operation wouldn't be required.
“The injury will be treated with non-invasive methods: injections into the muscles, physiotherapy, acupuncture,” Russian skating team doctor Yaroslav Bugaev said Tuesday, adding the injury would stop causing Plushenko pain after a minimum two weeks' treatment.
Plushenko is expected to take a month to recover from surgery on knee cartilage before continuing with a comeback to the sport he hopes will culminate in gold at his home Winter Games in Sochi in 2014.
The 29-year-old has had to skip the world championships in Nice, France, which start on March 26, depriving skating fans of a confrontation between Plushenko and his Canadian rival Patrick Chan this season.
He received special dispensation from the International Skating Union to take part in Sheffield after failing to accrue enough points in competition this season to qualify.
