Washington Capitals refuse to speculate timeline for centre Nicklas Backstrom’s return-NHL News
The Washington Capitals have adopted a cautious approach while speculating return of the centre, Nicklas Backstrom, from a concussion injury even though the player has passed another test on the way to his comeback.
Backstrom is reported to have cleared the baseline test of concussion recently, moving a step closer to return, but the management has refrained from giving a timeline in this matter.
Capitals said that they are hopeful that worse is over for the player and he can return to the team anytime in the near future.
He passed the test following clearance for contacts last week, but according to some reports, he is still unlikely to join the team in the regular season.
Washington’s general manager, George McPhee, said:
"We'll see where it goes from here, but it looks like the worst is behind for Nick."
The player has not played a single game or practised with the team since suffering the injury in the game against the Calgary Flames on January 03, 2012.
He has so far missed 39 games in total and with few more to go in the regular season he has almost missed the entire 2011-2012 regular season.
Capitals confirmed that they will not take chances on the injury front and can only hope for an earlier return of the player.
The GM said:
"We're not going to put this kid at risk by telling him when to play, etc. He's a grown-up and he knows how he feels, and he'll make the decision as to whether he plays or not."
The player seems to be well on the course to come back. Since he is said to have not experienced any symptoms on returning to the ice 15 days ago, it is seen less likely that he will be suffering any such problem while playing games.
Backstrom has returned to his home in Sweden twice, coming back to Canada after a short stay. His last return was 15 days ago and he has remained on the track to full recovery since then.
McPhee, while commenting on the chances of symptoms’ reoccurrence, said despite not having any indications of such a problem as such at the moment, anything is possible in case of these injuries.
According to the official:
"You never know what is going to turn for a player. Maybe that should be part of the protocol now, if a guy is starting to stall in his progress, send him home. "
The recent experience of some of NHL players, such as Sidney Crosby’s, shows that the recovery from concussions is an unpredictable process. Nothing is final and definite on it and the possibility of return of the symptoms is always there.
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