Wild centre Koivu still not ready to return from leg injury

TurboniumNY · 12-18-2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Wild centre Mikko Koivu had pain in his injured left leg during a skate Monday and is not expected to return to the ice soon.
Koivu suffered a broken bone in his leg Nov. 16 when Vancouver defenceman Mattias Ohlund hit him with a two-handed swing of his stick. Ohlund was suspended four games.
Koivu, sidelined for a month, has been skating on his own. The fracture has healed, but he needs to build strength in the leg.
Coach Jacques Lemaire said he hoped to have the Finnish star back within the next two weeks, but Koivu was wary of putting a timetable on his return.
"It's been so long, I forgot his name," Lemaire said, joking.
In 19 games, Koivu has five goals and 11 assists.
Another one of Minnesota's top scorers, Pavol Demitra, is fighting the flu. He didn't practise Monday, and his status is uncertain for the game against Nashville on Tuesday.
The Wild (18-12-2) have struggled to find consistency because of injuries to several key players. But they finished a five-game road trip with victories at Anaheim and Los Angeles over the weekend.
That put them back in a tie for first with Vancouver in the Northwest Division.

not an easy injury to return from, he'll be back soon enough