Islanders Horvat could have avoided major injury, medical expert weighs in

The New York Islanders got a devastating injury situation on Thursday night with leading scorer Bo Horvat going down midway through the second period of the Isles 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Horvat slid awkwardly, left the ice, and went straight to the dressing room. He did not return. Horvat played a total of 10 minutes across 11 shifts.

The injury seemed gruesome enough. But in renowned sports physician Dr. Harjas Grewal’s opinion, the injury might have been quite as serious.

Dr. Grewal stated:

Grewal is right about groin injuries being a week-to-week thing. Assuming Horvat avoided a significant injury, like the one Florida Panthers’ forward Matthew Tkachuk sustained last season, Horvat could be on the ice sooner rather than later.

However, groin injuries can be very tricky. Players sometimes don’t ever fully heal. As such, they are left dealing with issues for the remainder of their playing days. Hopefully, it might just be a matter of the Islanders being overly cautious with Horvat.

Islanders could miss Horvat for a few weeks

On Friday, Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News reported that the Islanders could be missing Horvat from one to three weeks. The club has not confirmed that information. Yet, given Dr. Grewal’s opinion, it seems plausible that that’s where Horvat’s injury is headed.

It’s worth pointing out that players who try to play through such injuries often end up exacerbating the issue. If this were the playoffs, you’d think Horvat would try his best to stay in the lineup.

But it’s December. The Christmas break is coming, and that few extra days of rest for the Islanders’ leading scorer can go a long way towards recovering.

For the time being, the prognosis seems good. Horvat avoided a major injury and could be back sooner rather than later. The Islanders have listed Horvat as day-to-day for now, but that could change to week-to-week. That possible switch remains to be seen.