Sidney Crosby injury: Penguins captain suffers broken jaw, out indefinitely

While he has been cleared to resume practicing with the team, Crosby will require medical clearance to make sure his jaw has properly healed. Despite his status remaining unchanged, it appears as though Crosby is progressing towards a return.

Considering how handily the Penguins defeated the Islanders on Wednesday night, it seems reasonable that Pittsburgh will ease Crosby back into the lineup. There is no question that this organization constructed this team with the sole intention of winning the Stanley Cup. If Game 1 is any indication, New York will not be much of a deterrent in accomplishing that goal. Until the Islanders prove otherwise, there is no reason to rush Crosby back.

Crosby has missed 12 games since he sustained a fractured jaw against the Islanders on March 30. Crosby’s jaw was broken into several pieces as opposed to a clean break and required titanium plates to mend the injury. While he has been medically cleared to resume practice, he still needs medical clearance to return to game action.

In order to receive such clearance, Crosby needs to be able to play without his jaw being susceptible to further injury. This means the titanium plates need to fully mend the shattered pieces of his jaw, according to Bob McKenzie during a radio spot on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Tuesday afternoon.

Molinari previously reported that Crosby was hoping to be medically cleared either on Thursday or Friday.

While the Penguins captain will be allowed to resume practicing with teammates, his return to game action has yet to be determined. Molinari reports that Crosby will not play in either of the team’s two remaining regular season games.

Molinari reports that Crosby will seek clearance on either Thursday or Friday with the hope of rejoining the team for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal next week. Based upon the report, it appears as though Crosby will not return prior to the end of the regular season.

The Penguins captain sustained a broken jaw after being hit in the face with a shot on March 30. It is believed that Crosby’s jaw was broken into several pieces as opposed to a clean break and required titanium plates to mend the injury. Fortunately, he was not required to have his jaw wired shut.

Despite missing the past two weeks with the injury, Crosby remains the NHL’s scoring leader with 56 points. There is no timetable for his return, however, while neither Neal or Martin are expected to take part in the full practice with the team this week.

For more on the Crosby injury situation, be sure to check out Pensburgh.

The Penguins added Jarome Iginla to their lineup on Saturday afternoon, but they quickly lost another star player to injury. Captain Sidney Crosby took a puck to the face off a Brooks Orpik slapper in the first period of Pittsburgh’s game against the New York Islanders and will not return to the game.

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