Crosby may have had fractured vertebrae
Before Saturday night, Sidney Crosby’s career was spinning silently, a cloud of uncertainty. Saturday night, the cloud only deepened.
An abnormality in Crosby’s C1 and C2 vertebrae was detected this week, and the injury went unnoticed until he sought second opinions from doctors in Utah and California. The injury is apparently healed, though an independent evaluation will be done in the coming days. And it may have opened a rift in the relationship between the Pittsburgh Penguins and their franchise player.
Bob Mccown, of Toronto radio station Sportsnet 590 The Fan, first reported the diagnosis, and added that it was said Crosby was not happy with the Penguins doctors for missing the injury.
Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, said the injuries were possible fractures, and when asked directly whether Crosby or Brisson were dissatisfied with the care provided by Penguins doctors, Brisson said ,“I can’t really comment on that.”
When asked about the report that Crosby was upset, Brisson said, “I haven’t heard that from Sidney.”
If there is a division between the Crosby camp and the Pens, Brisson declined to dispel the notion.
After the board of governors’ meeting Saturday morning, Penguins general manager Ray Shero gave no indication that news was coming.
Shero, who was at Scotiabank Place on Saturday night, did not meet with the media, but one source indicated the team learned about the injury on Wednesday. Two hours after the news broke, the Penguins released a short statement.
“The diagnosis of Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine specialist based in Los Angeles, is that Sidney Crosby had suffered a neck injury in addition to a concussion,” read the statement. “Dr. Bray reports that the neck injury is fully healed. Those findings will be evaluated by independent specialists over the next few days. ”
It remains unclear whether Crosby actually suffered a second concussion when he received an inadvertent elbow to the head from Boston’s David Krejci on Dec. 5 — he passed an IMPACT concussion test, though some of the symptoms associated with his first concussion returned. This newly diagnosed neck injury, however, may have originated from the hit delivered by Washington’s David Steckel at the 2011 Winter Classic, which was compounded by a hit from Tampa’s Victor Hedman four days later. After the Winter Classic, Crosby complained of a sore neck. He did not play for nearly 12 full months, and then played just eight games before the Krejci hit sent him back to the sidelines.
But this answer only produces more questions. How did Penguins doctors miss this injury in January 2011, before Crosby spent nearly a year grappling with his health and seeking second opinions? Did the injury heal properly, if undetected? Has Crosby’s health been mishandled, and what were the repercussions? Were the Penguins prepared for the news to be released, and does it indicate a rift? What is the state of the Crosby-penguins relationship?