Told Zach Parise’s announced timetable to return to game action for the Wild after Tuesday’s microdiscectomy was eight to 10 weeks, spine surgeon Nick Wills laughed out loud.



“I betcha it’s not,” Wills said. “You’ve got to let that thing heal, and it just takes time. It’s not like you can strengthen up and get around this. It just takes time.”



Granted, Wills quickly acknowledged he hasn’t treated Parise, nor seen the specific injury he’s dealing with. Parise was operated on Tuesday morning by Kevin Mullaney at TRIA in Bloomington for a herniated disk that was compressing into a nerve.



But the best guess from Wills, a specialist in cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions contacted Tuesday by The Athletic to lend his expertise after years of performing these types of operations, is that Parise won’t be back in the Wild lineup for at least three months.



“I suspect...