What had looked more and more likely as time went on became a virtual certainty Tuesday. Predators' forward Steve Sullivan, barring a medical miracle, will miss the remainder of this season as he continues to rehabilitate from a pair of offseason back surgeries. Sullivan recently returned from visiting a Seattle specialist, who told him that further rest and rehabilitation was the only cure for the fragmented disc in his back. The doctor told Sullivan it normally takes six months to a year to recover from the operations which means Sullivan most likely has several months before he would regain his health. "All this announcement does is it clarifies for our fans and players and takes away any realistic hope that he's going to be back this season," Predators' General Manager David Poile said. "(But) I would say clearly that we believe this is just a matter of time until he comes back. So the bad news is it's not realistic he's going to come back this season. The good news is that he has every intention of being 100 percent and ready to go next season." Sullivan said he'll return in a couple of weeks to Seattle, where he'll dive back into the rehabilitation process.