Crosby forced to skip NHL all-star game
Sidney Crosby says he had difficulty completing tasks "you do every day" immediately after he was diagnosed with a concussion.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain spoke with the media about his progress on Monday, the same day the team announced its superstar would miss Sunday's NHL all-star game.
The top vote-getter for the showcase event in Raleigh, N.C., Crosby was injured after absorbing hits to the head in successive games from the Capitals' David Steckel on Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic and the Lightning's Victor Hedman on Jan. 5.
"(The Penguins) were pretty clear in communicating to me when I saw doctors that there's no real timeline," Crosby said in a video posted on the Penguins' website. "People say 'mild concussion,' but I don't know if there's really is such a thing. It's a serious thing. Obviously, it's frustrating."
Although the neck injury he suffered following the hits has improved, Crosby said the initial headaches were hard to cope with.
"It's brutal," he said. "You sit around and you can't really do anything. Even watching TV early on, I couldn't do that.
"The biggest thing is just things you take for granted. Things you do every day like driving, stuff like that would set (the headaches) off."
Crosby wouldn't set a specific date for a return to physical activity but says he has been improving.
"The good thing is the last four or five days have been pretty good," he said. "In any case, now it's something that you're seeing more and more guys being really, really careful with this, and it's for a good reason. You don't want to get in that situation where you have multiple ones or you come back too early.
"It's not going to do me any good to come back too early and be feeling like I do now."
Noted for his intense workout routine, Crosby said it has been hard to stay idle during the recovery process.
"It's really difficult. At the end of the day you keep reminding yourself that you've to got to make sure that everything's clear and that when you do come back that you're ready to go hard."
Players across the league reacted to news that Crosby would miss the all-star game.
"Everything he's done in the league so far — he's lived up to (the hype) times two — not just on the ice, but off the ice," said Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis. "He was having another great year. It's a tough situation that he can't be there. It's disappointing.
"But is the league going to take a hit? I don't know, there's a lot of other great players in this league who are having great years."
Added Chicago's Patrick Kane: "Some players go through injuries and sometimes that rest is better than being part of the game."
Crosby will miss his ninth straight game Tuesday when the Penguins host the New York Islanders.