COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Rockne Brubaker, two-time U.S. pairs champion with Keauna McLaughlin, hopes to be back on the ice in early May after hernia surgery earlier this month.

Brubaker had surgery April 3 to repair two sports hernias, tears in the muscles of the lower abdomen. Recovery is four to six weeks, and he expects to resume training around May 1.

Brubaker said he first noticed the injury last fall.

"Sometimes there were days I had to tone it down in training or couldn't do as much because of it, but it didn't affect my competition," Brubaker said Thursday.

Together only three years, McLaughlin and Brubaker won their second straight U.S. title this year. But they struggled at their first world championships, finishing 11th. That was two spots behind fellow Americans Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett, but the combined placement of the two teams ensured the United States will have two pairs teams at the Vancouver Olympics.

McLaughlin and Brubaker would have been eligible for this week's World Team Trophy, but they decided to skip it so Brubaker could have surgery.

"The injury was not severe, but bothersome to Rockne's performance," said Dr. John Reasoner, the medical director of performance services for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"He had the ability to work though it during competitions, which is pretty amazing because it can be a very annoying and debilitating injury for individuals who perform repeated lifting. He should recover and return to his high levels of performance without any complications."