The St. Louis Blues will be without center Paul Stastny for at least the next five weeks due to a broken right foot.
Stastny, 29, was injured while blocking a shot in the second period of a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 16. He has a goal, four assists and a plus-four rating in five games.
The Blues placed Stastny on injured reserve on Oct. 21 and said the injury will be re-evaluated in five weeks.
“It’s an injury that affects all three aspects of our team,” head coach Ken Hitchcock told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “One person is not going to be able to absorb that. We have to find a way to absorb that in our group.”
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 Stastny’s treatment and recovery could entail.
“He probably has a non-displaced fracture into the bone,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “At roughly 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.”
And although Stastny’s initial diagnosis hints that he could return as early as five weeks, Dr. Goldbaum notes that it typically takes longer for a bone 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.”
Similar Injuries to High-Profile Players
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.
—
Follow Delray Beach Podiatry on Twitter @Delray_Podiatry
The content on this website is for informational purposes only. Do not rely or act upon information from www.DelrayBeachPodiatry.com without seeking professional medical advice. If you live in South Florida and would like a consultation with Dr. Ian Goldbaum, a podiatric physician and surgeon with over 30 years of experience, please see our contact information below:
BOCA/DELRAY
16244 S. Military Trail #290, Delray Beach, FL 33445
561-499-0033
BOYNTON BEACH
8198 Jog Road #100, Boynton Beach, FL 33472
561-499-0033
No responses yet