New York Rangers: Mats Zuccarello Could Make a Return Soon
Apr 2, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello (36) against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Rangers defeated the Wild 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
With all the news we’ve received in the last 48 hours, it’s possible that Mats Zuccarello could make his return to the lineup soon.
On April 24th in a Game Five series win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, forward Mats Zuccarello went down after taking a slapshot from New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh to the head and did not return to the game. Zuccarello’s injury was suspected to be a concussion, which made it unlikely that he would be able to suit up for the entire second round against the Washington Capitals.
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According to Larry Brooks and the New York Post on April 30th, Mats Zuccarello was ruled out for the entire second round and possibly the rest of the playoffs.
If Zuccarello had a concussion, it is unfair to say how long a player will be out for because there is never a specific timetable for a concussion. For example, players can wake up with concussion-like symptoms one day, and then wake up the next day feeling back to normal.
The Rangers have yet to diagnose an official injury on Zuccarello, but it is blatantly obvious now that it was a concussion. If a player had a concussion, though it’s not fair to give a timetable, in most circumstances it is expected that players miss at least two weeks. This is probably why Larry Brooks and the New York Post ruled out Zuccarello for the entire second round.
Zuccarello unavailable for entire second round v. Wash, and possibly well beyond that, Post has learned. http://t.co/CVrnCxqlIO
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) April 30, 2015
If you take a look at the article by Brooks above, he reported that Zuccarello may have suffered additional damage after being hospitalized for at least one night. This then led to serious doubts and anonymous trolls spreading rumors that Zuccarello’s career is in jeopardy. This is now laughable because in the last 48 hours, Zuccarello was reported from multiple sources to be doing light workouts, attending Game Five Friday at Madison Square Garden and now traveling with the team to Washington.
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With all the news received on Zuccarello, I think it is very possible that he returns sometime in Round Three if the Rangers can manage to complete their comeback against the Capitals.
The next step for Zuccarello is returning to practice, and if he is able to return to practice during the week, it won’t be much longer until he is ready to play in a game. However, consider Zuccarello out for the rest of Round Two, even if there is a Game Seven on Wednesday. One thing we still don’t know is if his speculated concussion symptoms have stopped. If they have, there’s a good chance he could play in Round Three if the Rangers make it that far.
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