Gretzky Says He Will Play on Wednesday : Kings: He says that doctors watched him practice and gave him clearance to return to the ice against the Lightning at the Forum.

Pronouncing himself fit and eager to return to the ice, King center Wayne Gretzky said Monday that he has fully recovered from a serious back injury and will play his first game of the season Wednesday night.

Surrounded by his family, teammates, coaches and doctors while speaking at a news conference at the Forum, Gretzky said he is excited about playing hockey again, something that at times he doubted he would be able to do.

“I’m obviously pretty excited,” said Gretzky, who has sat out nearly half the season because of a herniated disk. “The thought of not being able to play hockey was pretty frightening. I’m getting a second chance. Not many people get a second chance.”

Gretzky, 31, suffered the injury at training camp and then left on Sept. 13 to be with his wife for the birth of the couple’s second son the next day. Gretzky intended to return to the team, but never did. His back pain increased and he was hospitalized Sept. 16 in L.A. for nearly a week.

At an emotional news conference Sept. 22, Gretzky announced that he would be sidelined indefinitely. At the time, neither he nor his doctors would set a timetable for his return, but some predicted the injury might end his career.

Gretzky said doctors observed him at Sunday’s practice and cleared him to play. King officials had tentatively set Jan. 16 for Gretzky’s return, but Gretzky said that doctors advised him there would be no appreciable change in his condition during that time.

Gretzky will play Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Forum and Friday night against the Jets at Winnipeg but will sit out Sunday’s game at Chicago. Gretzky said that beginning next week, he plans to play every game.

King Coach Barry Melrose did not directly address the issue of the ice time Gretzky will get during those games. He said only that if Gretzky contributes to the team he will play, but if he does not help the team he will not.

“Wayne will get the ice time he deserves,” Melrose said.

Gretzky said Monday that he always expected to return in January. From the start, his recovery has gone ahead of schedule. He resumed skating Dec. 7 and began practicing with the team Dec. 26. Dr. Robert Watkins, a spine expert who has been treating Gretzky, said Gretzky’s condition is excellent.

Far from collapsing after losing Gretzky, the Kings were impressive, posting a 19-7-2 record in their first 28 games after his injury and taking a seven-point lead in the Smythe Division.

That was last month; the team has gone 1-7-3 in its last 11 games. Gretzky was asked if his return might rejuvenate the Kings.

“In a way, it’s been good for the team to establish its own identity,” Gretzky said. “But if the team was winning, they’d ask if I would mess it up. If the team is losing, they’d ask if I was going to clean it up. There’s always been pressure on me my whole career. I’m used to it.”

Gretzky will resume his position as team captain, a title that Melrose awarded to Luc Robitaille. Paul Coffey and Tony Granato were the alternate captains. Melrose said Monday that Robitaille will replace Granato as alternate captain.

Gretzky is expected to play on a line with Granato and Donnelly, two of the team’s fastest skaters. Last season, Gretzky started on a line with Granato and Tomas Sandstrom.

But injuries have forced Melrose to juggle lines all season. Right wing Jari Kurri was converted to a center, and Melrose said Monday that Kurri will not be moved back to wing.

Gretzky’s injury is said by medical experts to be extremely rare. Neither Gretzky nor Watkins can say precisely how the injury occurred.

Watkins conceded originally that the injury might be career-threatening, but stressed that because of its unusual nature it would be difficult to predict the amount of time needed for rehabilitation.

Watkins repeated that Monday, when asked if Gretzky’s recovery is considered remarkable.

“This kind of condition is so unusual that it’s difficult to put parameters on it,” he said.

The disk is a layer of fibrous, jelly-like connective tissue between the vertebrae. When herniated, the disk puts pressure on the spinal cord and surrounding nerves, causing extreme pain.

A mid-thoracic injury like Gretzky’s is challenging to rehabilitate. If surgery had been indicated, the location of the injury would have made such a procedure difficult.

Gretzky will wear a protective pad, but said he is not apprehensive about getting hit.

“I think other people are more worried about it than me,” he said.

The injury was the longest interruption of Gretzky’s career. The Brantford, Canada, native began skating at 2 and began playing organized hockey four years later. Not since he was 14--when he sat out for two months while his eligibility was being questioned--has Gretzky been away from the game as long.