- Brock Faber says his preseason skull fracture “could have been a lot worse”
- The puck hit the one spot on his head the helmet doesn’t cover, so he now wears plastic ear guards
- Read below for his full account and where his return timeline stands
Brock Faber knows how close this one came.
The Wild defenseman spoke Friday after his second straight practice with the team and said the skull fracture he suffered in the preseason “could have been a lot worse”. Faber talked about the injury as he works his way back.
“It could have been a lot worse if, one, if I got hit harder in that spot, and two, if I didn’t get the medical attention that I did”, Faber said. “I’m so glad to just put it in the past. It’s so good to be back.”
He explained just how small the target was. The puck hit him during the second period of a Sept. 25 preseason game against the Stars, in an area around the ear that the helmet doesn’t cover. We have more on his first practice back in our earlier report.
“If it would have got me a couple centimeters lower, it just would have hit me in the ear and I’d had to maybe get a couple stitches on my ear. If it would have hit me a couple inches or centimeters higher, it hits me in the helmet and I’m fine”, Faber said. “The area where I got hit, only a puck could fit there.”
Watch Faber at the Wild’s skate Friday:
The scariest part is that he didn’t feel it at first. Faber said the shot was a slow one and he stayed in for the rest of the second period before skipping the third. “To be honest it didn’t even hurt that bad”, he said. “It just felt like a little bruise on your skull, like nothing crazy, really. Obviously, things progressively got worse.”
A CT scan at Regions Hospital in St. Paul that night found the fracture. Faber had surgery Sept. 27 and spent three days in the hospital.
The ear guards are the visible change. Faber added plastic protection to his helmet as he ramps up his skating, and he showed them off to Michael Russo of The Athletic:
There is still no return date. Faber said his body feels normal, but he went a month without training and wants to be at full strength. “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”, he said. “The last thing I’d want to do is get back too soon and something else pops up.”
The Wild haven’t needed to rush him. They are 11-3-3 without Faber, who had 51 points and averaged 24:41 of ice time in 80 games last season, and they lead the Central Division. Coach John Hynes said Faber is expected to travel on the three-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Montreal.
Minnesota hosts the Sharks on Friday night and the Lightning on Saturday, and Faber won’t be in the lineup for either.
