Sidney Crosby “I’m expecting to play this year”

Added on Feb 10, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

In his first interview since January 25, Sidney Crosby spoke to the media about his progress and his expectations for the rest of the season. Crosby said he is very confident that he will be back this season, and said he is feeling better each day.

Crosby said “I’m getting better, it’s just slow. That’s the tough part, the progression. Everything is improving, but it’s just at a slower rate than I’d want it to be. That’s kind of something, like I said, that’s out of my control and you just hope with time and, hopefully, (it’s) the quicker the better. But there’s no timetable. It’s whatever. It’s impossible to kind of gage or really put a number of days on it or a timetable.”

Crosby said he isn’t thinking about missing the rest of the season, and he is trying to stay positive. He said “You know what? That could happen. But am I sitting here packing it in? No. I hope I’m back and, geez, I hope I play this year. But that’s the thing with these things, you don’t know. There’s no time frame. Like I said, I’m expecting to play this year.”

Crosby has only been injured once in his career with an ankle sprain, but Crosby said that this is unlike anything else he has felt. Crosby told the media, “It’s really scary. There’s not anything that you can really compare it to. The fact as far as being out, being away, and how to deal with that, probably going back to when I hurt my ankle, that helps me a bit. But this is a little different when you’re talking about your brain. Yeah, it’s scary, but like I said, to a certain extent or certain point, there’s nothing you can do except give yourself a chance to heal and, hopefully, it happens sooner rather than later.”

Crosby recently took a short vacation where he spent some time with close friends and family. He said ”The doctor told me to get away, that’s basically it. It’s not the easiest thing coming in every day hoping to do something. It’s great that everyone asks how you’re doing, but it’s just a constant reminder that you’re not playing and you’re injured. So sometimes it’s good to get away from that a bit and have the opportunity to see my parents and hang out with them for a bit. Just to kind of get away from the everyday questions. I was here during the All-Star break, when everyone was gone, so it was getting kind of long just staying in one spot. Kind of getting stir crazy.”

Jordan Stall also commented about Crosby, and he said they are just trying to give Crosby the space he needs because they know how rough it can be. He said “We’re all in the dark, no question. He likes to keep that stuff close to the vest and I don’t blame him. A lot of people are asking questions, but when he’s around you try not to ask him too many questions about how he’s doing. Obviously it’s tough enough when you get all these guys asking how he’s doing. He’ll be ready when he’s ready.”