Media attending the Blue Jackets pratcice this morning shared some unexpected news with the fanbase via twitter: Kristian Huselius taking part in the practice, albeit wearing a no contact jersey.
The news immediately started fan speculation on when Juice might be able to return to the ice, if he would become trade bait, or what the lines might look like to fit him into the picture. Given the reports that his injury could take until January or February to heal, I decided to reach out to Backhand Shelf contributor Jo Innes, who wrote the excellent breakdown of the original injury for us, and asked her how she thought the news fit into the timeline for his recovery.
Hmm. This happened in mid-July, so he’s about 3.5 months into recovery. He’s probably right on track. Light training at 3 months, heavy at 4 months, back in action at 6. He’s probably been in the gym for a while now, and finally at the point of seeing how he feels actually going through the hockey motions. I’d assume they’ll keep him no-contact for a while (a month? Six weeks?) because they don’t want to stress the repair.The fact that he’s skating is pretty exciting. Must mean he’s been healing well.
So, on the one hand, it’s encouraging news – and means he’s doing well in his rehab – but I’d still doubt we see him back before early December – and more likely closer to New Year’s, since I’m sure they’ll want him to take part in a week or two of full on practices before risking game action.