Oilers' Kane seems ahead of schedule in recovering from slashed wrist scare
Evander Kane will seemingly be back with the Edmonton Oilers sooner rather than later.
Kane, who had emergency surgery after suffering a gruesome skate slash to his wrist during a 3-2 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 8, has already returned to practice alongside teammates.
Kane taking some shots this morning. Also did some sprints with skills coaches and some fitness testing. pic.twitter.com/4LoKbcsQux
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) January 3, 2023
“He told me from Day 1 he’s a quick healer,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft told media Tuesday morning. “That’s what he said. If you looked at his arm, you could barely tell anything occurred to it. I think it’s just a matter of letting things heal from the inside, just given the nature of that injury. But I think it’s a real positive sign. You’ll see him more and more with the team here.
“We’re taking it one day at a time. It’s not day-to-day. He’s still in the week-to-week category. But he’ll start ramping up his on-ice participation with the full group as we move forward.”
"We think we can play better in front of our home fans."
Jay Woodcroft speaks before the #Oilers host Seattle tonight at @RogersPlace. pic.twitter.com/Q5YtpudPKi
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 3, 2023
Kane sustained the injury when Lightning forward Patrick Maroon inadvertently skated over his arm in the second period. Kane immediately grabbed his wrist and placed pressure on it, skated off the ice, and ran down the tunnel to be treated by staff.
He was originally expected to be out for three to four months.
Less than two months later, the 31-year-old forward was back amongst teammates testing out the injured wrist and could be back in a matter of weeks.
“Thank you for all the kind wishes and prayers over the past several hours,” Kane wrote in a tweet the day after the injury. “Obviously, last night was an extremely scary moment for me, and I’m still in a little bit of shock. I would like to thank the entire training staff of the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning, along with all the doctors and paramedics who rushed to help treat and repair my injury.
“Without all of you, I know things would’ve been much worse and I’m sincerely grateful. I won’t be back next game, but I will be back and I look forward to being back on the ice playing the game I love alongside my teammates and in front of our great fans.”
Kane has five goals and 13 points in 14 games played this season after signing a four-year, $20.5 million contract with the Oilers this summer.