From my own perspective, I had injuries a couple of times in the 18 years I spend at my first shop, and they made allowances for me, and paid me, 6 weeks of full pay one time, and paid me for 40 hours the first few weeks back for half days, until I could stand all day again (disc issue). That being said, I did have some value, ran the screen dept., converted the art dept. to digital, knew all the production stuff, and kept up with the trade as others I worked with didn't care if they weren't at work. You are in a tough place, but I'd try to figure something out if you value him, good luck...
Steve