Grey's Anatomy Season 9 is likely to change a major character's life forever.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for those who have not seen the Season 8 finale.

Grey's series creator Shonda Rhimes has talked about Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in a way that both reassures and worries the fans of the series.

In the Season 8 finale, viewers saw that Dr. Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) has suffered from what seemed to be a major injury to his hand. One of the nagging questions that left many viewers is: Would Derek Shepherd, prized surgeon of Seattle Grace Mercy West, still be in his best form next season?

Derek Shepherd: 'What kind of doctor?'

Speaking to Inside TV at Entertainment Weekly, Rhimes teased the fans with the following answer:

"(A)s for Derek, I think it's safe to say that he'll always be a doctor, but says Rhimes, he'll deal with the question of "what kind of doctor are you when you can't do the thing you're greatest at any more?"

Obviously, Rhimes is referring to Derek's brilliant skills as a neurosurgeon for the hopeless cases - that is where his strength lies. He is the go-to doctor of children and adults with some of the worst neuro problems.

For the worried fans, Rhimes' answer suggests that Derek's hand injury from the plane crash might send him away from the operating table. But for how long?

To compensate for the ominous teaser, Rhimes assured fans that Derek (unlike Lexie Grey) will be back next season.

"We're going to see him head back, but there is that question for him," Rhimes said.

The Arizona question

Meanwhile, Rhimes is still not spilling on the fate of Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) on the series. Only one actor - Eric Dane (who plays Mark Sloan) has confirmed his departure from the series next season. Dane has only two more episodes left before he leaves the series.

As for Arizona, this is all Rhimes had to say:

"I can't say anything other than [Callie and Arizona's arc] is interesting. There's a big story this year in the Callie camp - but that's all I'm going to say," Rhimes said.