Pens’ Crosby suffering from soft tissue injury in his neck

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Sidney Crosby’s concussion-like symptoms may not be due to a concussion after all.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star said Tuesday he’s been diagnosed with a soft-tissue injury in his neck that mimics the symptoms of a concussion but is significantly more treatable.

“There’s a pretty big possibility that I could be causing some of the issues and I hope that’s the case,” Crosby said. “I hope that it’ll improve and that’s hopefully the end of it.”

Crosby and Penguins owner Mario Lemieux met with spinal trauma expert Dr. Alexander Vaccaro in Philadelphia on Monday to review a series of recent tests on the 2009 NHL MVP.

Vaccaro determined an MRI and CAT scan indicated no evidence of a fracture in Crosby’s neck — as had been rumored during All-Star weekend — instead confirming a California doctor’s diagnosis that Crosby is dealing with a soft-tissue injury.

The news came as a bit of relief to Crosby, who hasn’t played since symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. He missed more than 10 months last year after taking head shots in consecutive games in January, 2011. He returned on Nov. 21 and scored 12 points in eight games before going back on the injured list.

The tests could not determine when exactly the neck occurred.

“It’s hard to pinpoint when this could have happened, whether this was an existing injury or it happened in one of the games in which he came back,” general manager Ray Shero said.

Frustrated by his slow progress, Crosby traveled to Los Angeles last week to visit noted spine specialist Dr. Robert S. Bray, who examined Crosby and treated him with an injection to alleviate swelling in the neck.

Bray will oversee Crosby’s progression with therapists.