Nick Jensen is on a remarkable road to recovery. Read MoreThe veteran Ottawa Senators defenceman had a rare form of major hip surgery on May 19
The veteran Ottawa Senators defenceman had a rare form of major hip surgery on May 19
Article content
Nick Jensen is on a remarkable road to recovery.
Article content
The veteran Ottawa Senators defenceman, who had a rare form of major hip surgery on May 19, was on the ice in the morning with the rest of the players, but did not suit up against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Sunday’s pre-season opener at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Article content
Article content
The 35-year-old Jensen isn’t ready to participate in a training camp scrimmage or exhibition game yet, but it’s fair to say that, just four months after having the procedure for the ailment he played through for much of the second half of the season, he’s definitely ahead of schedule.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
It’s a credit to the work he’s done since having the procedure that saw a surgeon in New York City place a metal plate in his hip to completely replace the cartilage. Jensen had spent time playing through a bone-on-bone situation.
Article content
Article content
Sports
Article content
Jensen doesn’t have a timeline of when he might suit up for his first game with the Senators, and the organization will proceed with caution before that happens.
Article content
“The term schedule is a little more liberal in this sense,” Jensen told Postmedia on Sunday after the skate. “You have ACL surgeries, thousands of surgeries a year, and you get a really good sample size of a majority of people come back in a certain time frame.
Article content
“Whereas this surgery just isn’t that popular. There just isn’t a big sample size. I can name three guys in the league playing with it right now. There are probably more than that. But compared to the ACL, over the years, there (aren’t as many).
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“One guy did both his hips, and he was back in eight months; another came back in six months. If we’re averaging that out, the timeline is seven months, but I don’t think that’s a real timeline.”
Article content
Read More
-
Fans welcome Ottawa Senators back to Canadian Tire Centre
-
Ottawa Senators shift training camp into high gear
-
Advertisement embed-more-topic
Story continues below
Article content
Jensen is feeling better, and he’s viewing every step as one in the right direction, but even he can’t tell you if he’s going to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 9 in the season opener.
Article content
“I hit a certain point where, when I’m out there, my hip doesn’t hinder me in any sense,” Jensen said. “Once I hit that point, it’s just the other aspects of being able to play at an elite level: Conditioning, skating, the power, speed, puck handling and vision. That has to come to. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, my hip is better, let’s go play hockey.’
Article content
“I’ve just got to make sure everything is in line. Everything is feeling good. Just like during the season when I take it game-by-game, I’ve got the same mindset here. I’m not going to say that I’m going to be ready for Game 1. I came in today and I worked as hard as I could, and that’s pretty much as far as my scope goes.”
Discover more from World Byte News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
