Ray Emery seeking return to the NHL after hip surgery
Former NHL goaltender Ray Emery underwent hip surgery on 1 April of this year to repair his damaged right hip. Emery, who has not been on the ice since the surgery, plans to get back on
the ice sometime this week as he rehabilitates his hip and works toward continuing his hockey career.
Emery was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers over the summer of 2009 and began the season as the Flyers starting goalkeeper. Emery was placed on injured reserve by the Flyers on 8 December
2009 after he sustained a torn muscle in his abdomen that required surgery. In March it was announced he would be out for the season when he was diagnosed with avascular necrosis in his hip.
Avascular necrosis, in simple terms, means that the ball joint in his hip had collapsed due to lack of blood. In order to repair the hip, bone was grafted from his lower leg and inserted
into the ball joint. Emery told ESPN, “Usually when you have this type of thing done, they just want you to walk again.”
Six weeks ago Emery was given clearance by his doctors to start the rehab process. Emery enlisted trainer Matt Nichol to assist in his rehab. Nichol said he was brutally honest with Emery
about what the rehab process would entail, “I laid it all out. I might have even painted a more grim picture. I wanted to give him the worst-case scenario. He said he was up for it and he has been. He’s been incredible.”
Nichol and Emery trained twice a day, every day for six weeks. Nichols said the training was, “Basically everything but the kitchen sink, that’s what it’s going to take to get this guy
back.”
Emery is now ready to give skating a try for the first time since the surgery. Emery is not rushing things; he knows that the surgery repaired a serious injury. Emery said, “I really just
want to give myself a chance to play and play well when I come back. I’m not rushed.”
Emery became an unrestricted free agent when his one-year deal with the Flyers expired at the end of the 2010 season. Recently Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren had the following to
say about Emery, “I enjoyed Ray when he was here, I thought he played well for us. It’s something that if he were able to come back and play, we’d certainly have interest in talking to him.”
Emery’s record with the Flyers during the 2010 season was 16-11-1.
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