Brock Faber spoke to the Minnesota Wild media contingent on Friday, walking everyone through his experience of getting a skull fracture; he said he had no idea he’d gotten one.
A concerning injury that occurred in preseason: fans are amazed at how tough Faber must be to have suffered that kind of injury and noted, “It didn’t even hurt.”
Faber Comments on the Injury
Michael Russo of The Athletic provided several quotes from Faber’s media availability. He cites the defenseman, who said he felt completely fine.
‘“Just a few days after surgery, I felt completely fine, which was almost the hardest part, knowing that my body feels normal, my head feels completely normal, I just can’t do anything.”
He added, “When I got hit, to be honest, it didn’t even hurt that bad. It just felt like a little bruise on your skull, nothing crazy, really.” Noting it was such a slow shot, he didn’t think much of it, which is why he continued playing in the game. He thought he was good to go. “I guess I was wrong,” he noted.
Faber Not Rushing Back Into the Wild’s Lineup
Faber has been skating with the team, but he’s not jumping right back into game action. “It feels so good. … I knew that it could be a long period of time, but all the scans and meetings with the doctors were super positive early on, so, I’m back.” He has been medically cleared but isn’t physically ready to play.
That includes not playing Friday night against the San Jose Sharks.
“I’m going to take my time a little bit more with this one than maybe I would have in the past, just considering what the injury was. The last thing I’d want to do is get back too soon and something else pops up.”
“It honestly makes me feel so good knowing that they don’t need me right now. They’re flying around. They’re winning hockey games. They’re playing the right way.” “I really didn’t let myself think any other way than I’ll be playing in a month, and I missed it by a couple of weeks.”
Faber is right. The Wild are playing well enough that he has time to move more slowly and not take risks by coming back too soon. “Now it is ramping him up, getting it to the point where he is physically ready to play. So contact is part of his back-to-play protocol,” said head coach John Hynes.
The Wild will continue to monitor Faber’s progress. A potential game return could come during next week’s road trip.
Brock Faber Shares Wild Story: Talks For First Time Since Skull Fracture