The 24-year-old Crosby attempted to comeback earlier this season, but after the eight games said he was feeling concussion-like symptoms and returned to the sidelines. In late January, a doctor said Crosby had a fractured neck and that could be the cause of his problems. However, another doctor has now stated that he doesn’t have a fractured neck, but has a soft tissue injury.
There are several doctors working with the star center, but none of them know when Crosby may have picked up the injury. It could have happened back in 2011 or sometime this season when he made the short comeback. However, the medical team said the condition is treatable. Crosby last played a game on Dec. 5, 2011. He missed the last half of last season as well as the playoffs and has played just eight times this season.
The problem is, the doctors don’t know if Crosby has both a concussion and a neck injury or if the neck problem is the cause of the concussion-like symptoms. The Penguins and Crosby are obviously hoping the neck injury is the only problem he has to deal with. Crosby said he’s encouraged that the neck injury could be the root of all that ails him and will start to receive treatment on it as soon as possible. The injury isn’t considered to be career threatening, but multiple concussions are.
The league misses Crosby since he’s viewed as a legitimate star. By the time he was 22 years old he had already won the league’s MVP trophy, a scoring championship, an Olympic gold medal, and a Stanley Cup. Crosby said that he’s feeling okay, and has resumed skating, but hasn’t been cleared to practice with his teammates.
Since it’s taken over a year for doctors to properly diagnose Crosby’s injury, there have been reports that he isn’t very happy with the Penguins’ medical staff and other doctors he’s visited over the past dozen or so months. Crosby said he’s just concerned about treating the injury and getting back on the ice as soon as possible.
The original injury took place at Heinz field in Pittsburgh on Jan. 1, 2011 in the NHL’s annual outdoor game. Crosby was hit by Washington’s David Steckel and was then hit again by Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 5 and was diagnosed with a concussion. The then complained of fatigue, headaches, motion discomfort, and dizziness over the next few months. He was cleared to practice in late September 2011, but didn’t return to the lineup until Nov. 21 when he scored a pair of goals and assists against the New York Islanders.
However, after scoring 12 points in eight games he was sidelined again with a re-occurrence of the concussion-like symptoms. He tried to practice with the team on Dec. 7, but said he was still suffering from headaches. He’s now skating on his own and will see if treatment for the neck injury solves his headache problem.
Written by DieHard Sports via FeedCrossing
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