The Pittsburgh Penguins issued a statement on Tuesday night that Sidney Crosby has a "soft tissue injury" to the neck area (not a fractured vertebrae) that could be causing neurological symptoms, and that an independent specialist found no evidence of a past or present fracture.
More from the Penguins statement:
Dr. Alexander Vaccaro is a spinal trauma expert at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and co-director of the Spinal Cord Center at Thomas Jefferson University. He is past president of the American Spinal Injury Association.
Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, along with Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and CEO David Morehouse traveled Monday morning to Philadelphia, where Vaccaro reviewed a CAT Scan and MRI taken last week by Dr. Robert S. Bray in Los Angeles. Bray diagnosed a neck injury.
Bray has treated Crosby with an injection to alleviate swelling in the C1-2 joint of the neck and will be overseeing his progression with therapists.
Doctors say the symptoms of a soft-tissue neck injury are similar to concussion symptoms.
Vaccaro, Bray and UPMC doctors all agree that Crosby is safe, the injury is treatable, and he will return to action when he is symptom-free.
Crosby and general manager Ray Shero spoke just before the Penguins game against the Maple Leafs, and after the 16-minute press conference had ended there were still no definitive answers as to when then injury occured, whether it's what is causing his symptoms and when (or if) he will play again for the Penguins this season.
