Soccer star warns Crosby not to rush back
Posted March 8, 2012 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Greg Sutton knows what Sidney Crosby is going through.
Sutton was a starter for Toronto FC and one of Canada’s best goalkeepers when he suffered a concussion during a training session while on duty with the Canadian national team in June of 2007.
The Hamilton native ended up missing the rest of the Major League Soccer season that year as he suffered chronic symptoms over the ensuing months and did not make his return to action until 2008.
Now with the Montreal Impact, Sutton, 34, is currently preparing for the upcoming MLS season. He’s also taken notice of the situation with NHL star Sidney Crosby, who was cleared for contact this week and whose return to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ line-up appears imminent — he skated in practice Wednesday morning and could possibly make his return later this week.
Crosby, now 24, sat out a year after being hit in the head and driven hard into the boards in back-to-back games. The hits led to a concussion and a neck problem. Crosby returned to action last November and played eight games before being concussed again. He has not played since Dec. 5.
Although he’s fine now, Sutton admits that the pain was so bad that there were times when he thought he might never be able to play again — including during a two-month stretch when he woke up every day with a burning headache.
If Sutton could give Crosby any advice it would be to listen to his body — and not his heart — and don’t rush back just because the competitive fires burn.
“I look back on 2007 when I had my concussion and how I responded to it and I ask myself, ‘Did I listen to my body properly?’ Probably not. That’s the reason why I had such long, lingering effects. He’s probably feeling the same pressure and believes that it’s fine,” Sutton told sportsnet.ca.
Sutton has doubts as to whether Crosby was fully fit when he came back in November and whether the NHL star should have taken the extra time off before trying to hit the ice again.
“He has to be very careful and not rush himself to the point where he’s coming back like he did in November, and then a few games later he was back on the shelf. That’s an obvious sign that he wasn’t 100 per cent,” Sutton offered.
“Anyone who knows anything about concussions knows that trying to come back when you’re not 100 per cent, it’s detrimental and it hurts you times 10. He probably got into a tough situation and thought his body would be able to respond and get through it.”
The Impact goalkeeper also wonders whether Crosby should take an extended break from the game.
“I think he’s in a situation where he just has to take some time off and get back to trying to live a normal a life as possible without having headaches or any side effects. You need to give your body and brain enough time to heal properly,” Sutton opined.
“It’s better him missing two years than a whole career. He’s still young enough where he could probably take two years off and he could come back and have a good career.”
Sutton doesn’t doubt that Crosby is getting pressure from the Penguins to play, but he also thinks the Stanley Cup and Olympic champion can’t let that sway his decision as to when to return.
“This guy is the No. 1 star in the game, so he’s probably getting a lot more pressure than I felt when I was coming back from my injury. I can only imagine what he gets, but he’s just got to forget that stuff and hopefully he can get back to his old self and feeling the way he felt before the hit,” Sutton said.
A concussion isn’t like any other injury, in Sutton’s view. You can’t simply play through the pain as though it were a swollen knee or a bruised hip; there are just too many unknowns with a brain injury and every athlete’s response is different.
“A doctor can tell you how long you are going to be out with an ACL. He sees the images and sees the damage that has been done. Nobody can see with the brain the damage that has been done,” Sutton said.
“A doctor can’t tell you it’s going to be two or three months, because he doesn’t know how you really feel. That’s why you have to be really honest and respectful of your own self. As tough as it is and as difficult as it may be, you have to say, ‘I just can’t do it right now,’ and stay strong and hopefully your body responds and you get back out there eventually.”
Like most hockey fans, Sutton wants to see Crosby back on the ice, but if that’s later rather than sooner because the Penguins star needs the extra time to recuperate, so be it.
“I wish him the best. It would be devastating to hockey if that guy never laces up the skates again,” Sutton said.
