Vancouver Canucks left-winger Chris Higgins will reportedly miss the start of the 2015-16 season after fracturing a bone in his right foot while blocking a shot during a 1-0 pre-season victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
“Obviously everyone saw him, he blocked a shot yesterday on the foot so he is going to get evaluated today and that’s all we know,” assistant coach Glen Gulutzan told the Vancouver Sun.
The Canucks have stated that Higgins, who was reportedly seen wearing a walking boot on Tuesday, will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
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Dr. Ian S. Goldbaum, a podiatric physician and surgeon with over 30 years of experience, has treated numerous fractures of the foot and ankle at his office in Delray Beach, Florida and, although not much information is known at this time, can offer insight into what exactly Higgins’ treatment and recovery could entail.
“He probably has a non-displaced fracture into the bone,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “At three weeks, they’ll X-ray it to make sure there’s bone granulation, which is the formation of the bone callus that acts bridge of woven bone between the fracture fragments.”
While some hope that Higgins may be able to return shortly after his re-evaluation in three weeks, Dr. Goldbaum was quick to point out that it typically takes a bone much longer to mend.
“It takes six weeks for bone to mend,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “They might utilize a bone stimulator, which sends an electrical charge into the bone to bring the two ends of the bone together and speed up the healing process, but I’d still put his recovery time around six weeks to be safe.”
That being said, Dr. Goldbaum believes that the fact that Higgins was seen wearing a walking boot bodes well for his recovery.
“I’d say it’s a good sign,” he said. “It means that the injury did not occur on an area where the bone is being pulled by a muscle. The fracture is there, it just needs to come back together. If there was something pulling on it, they’d immediately need to go in and insert a screw or other form fixation device.”
Similar Injuries
Alexander Ovechkin: The Washington Capitals’ captain sustained a hairline fracture while blocking a shot in Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New York Rangers. He did not miss any time, playing in Game 7 the next night and then at the IIHF World Championship days later. He waited until after playing for Russia in Stockholm to have an MRI.
It’s unclear exactly how much time Ovechkin would have missed had the injury occurred during the regular season. But roughly one month after hanging up his skates for the season, he told the Washington Post that he was “walking fine.”
Nathan MacKinnon: The Colorado Avalanche forward missed the final month of the 2014-15 regular season after taking a puck to the foot on two separate occasions down the home stretch. The initial foot injury occurred when he blocked a shot on Feb. 22 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, he would continue to play for a few more weeks before a second MRI revealed a fracture.
MacKinnon’s recovery time was set at 6-8 weeks.
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