Chicago Blackhawks uncertain on captain Jonathan Toews’ return from concussion-NHL News
The Chicago Blackhawks remain uncertain about return of their captain, Jonathan Toews, despite his appearance in practice sessions on Thursday and Friday (March 08, 09, 2012).
Toews himself has acknowledged the fact that he could not predict a timeline for his return despite admitting that he was feeling good while being on the ice once again.
It was the game against St. Louis Blues on February 19, 2012, that he played as the last and since then is out with a concussion problem.
He for the first time showed up for practice on past Thursday but remained limited to little workout and then again returned on Friday.
The centre said he had felt good after the session and did not experience any symptoms in the aftermath. Yet, both the management and the player declined to predict exact date for his comeback.
Interestingly, the player disclosed that he did not know at all when he had suffered the injury and admitted at the same time that initially he had been playing through with the symptoms.
However, he denied if his injury had been aggravated by playing all those games while carrying the symptoms, apparently in ignorance.
He said:
"You come out of a game and feel those (concussion) symptoms, I guess. You don't want to admit to yourself what it might be and you kind of keep going so it's not clear when it might have happened. The toughest thing was coming to grips with it and saying
it's something I had to deal with and couldn't keep playing with."
No one from the team management has commented on the issue following the admission of the player or whether there remained a possibility of worsening the injury by playing with it.
The player has so far missed nine games of the regular season and without any timetable for his return, stands prone to missing many more.
Blackhawks, in the meantime, are hoping for the player’s earliest possible return. They especially do not want to see him suffering the same problem in the future, not when they are almost through to the playoffs, and his participation in the second round
will be very crucial to their wins.
The team has played 69 games of the season and scored 81 points. With 37 wins, 25 losses and seven more overtime losses, they are ranked sixth in the Western Conference. The rating was even better before the captain left them with the injury.
He is the leading goal scorer, with 29 goals and has led the team from the front during most of their wins.
Meanwhile, Toews is said to be in contact with his counterpart, Pittsburgh Penguins’ centre, Sidney Crosby, who has been through the same concussion-like symptoms and is out of the team at the moment.
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