Veteran forward confirms he will miss at least one month of the regular season.

It was announced back in June that Tampa Bay forward forward Ryan Callahan would need major hip surgery in order to repair a significant injury, and unfortunately for the two-time Olympian it knocked him out of the World Cup tournament.

It's going to be much more than just the tournament that Callahan is forced to sit out however, and this week Callahan confirmed to Lightning insider Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that while his recovery was going well, he would likely miss a month a half of the regular season.

"It's really tough," Callahan said as per Smith. "It's definitely disappointing that I'm going to miss that. Anytime you get to represent your country, it's something special. And to be in the World Cup is something I've never experienced before."

While confirming a likely return in mid-November it's clear Callahan was hoping that with such a long recovery he could shave off some time from that timetable, but he admits it could also be even longer.

"It's such a long estimated timetable that there's obviously variation in there," Callahan said. "Some guys come back a little bit earlier than that, some guys it's five months. If it's before then, then great."

We would expect the Lightning won't allow him to rush back but it will be a tough start to the season without one of their seasoned veterans up front.