A serious eye injury has put Ryan Hand's second season with the Rapid City Rush on hold.

Hand, 24, of Ottawa, Ontario, underwent surgery Wednesday to treat a detached retina in his left eye.

Last season, Hand played 16 games for the Rush after starting the year with the Laredo Bucks. The 6-1, 180-pound forward's aggressiveness, indicated by 67 penalty minutes, including seven fighting majors, quickly made him a fan favorite in Rapid City.

He had re-signed with Rapid City for the 2009-2010 season and was scheduled to attend an American Hockey League camp in Springfield, Ill., prior to the start of Rush training camp early next month.

"This is devastating for him," said Rush head coach Joe Ferras.

"He was all set to go to Springfield for an AHL camp and then come to camp for us. He had worked hard all summer. Having had an eye injury myself, I know it's at least two months after the surgery to where he's even close to being able to play," Ferras said.

The retina is a thin film of tissue lining the inside of the back of the eye. Tears or holes in the retina allow fluid to build up behind the retina, causing the tissue to separate, or detach from the rear of the eye.

Treatment usually involves laser surgery or cryotherapy (freezing) to prevent any holes and tears from progressing to a full detachment, which leads to permanent vision loss.

Depending on the extent of the injury and outcome of the surgery, Hand is expected be out of action for at least three months, according to Rush athletic trainer Osama Kassab, who recently joined the Rush after three years with the Rocky Mountain Rage.

"With the general aspects of a detached retina, you're usually looking at about four weeks before you can resume normal activities of daily life, such as walking, and not even exercising for an extended period," Kassab said.

"With hockey, you don't want him to take a second hit and risk permanent damage to the eye, or a second detachment," he said.

Kassab has seen other athletes recover from the injury, but the comeback is a slow process.

The first seven to 10 days of recovery involves keeping the patient lying face down or sitting in a massage chair with little or no movement.

"The fastest I've seen anyone come back to full play of hockey is three months. We're going to worry about the health of the eye. That's the most important thing. Then we'll worry about hockey conditioning and everything else," Kassab said.

Hand could begin a simple training regimen, including skating, in four to six weeks.

"It's kind of hit-or-miss depending on the person, and how the surgery went," Kassab said.

Hand told Ferras that the initial injury may have occurred during an on-ice fight with David Simoes of the Mississippi RiverKings during the 2008-2009 regular season.

Hand suffered a cut under his eye that required stitches and said he had experienced some blurring of vision at that time.

Hand was also recently struck by a deflected puck while hosting a hockey camp in his native Ontario this summer.

"His doctor said it was hard to tell where it started and what finished it off, so to speak," Kassab said.

"With Ryan, it didn't get bad enough to where he was going completely blind, but it did concern him enough to get it checked out, which was very good for him," Kassab said.