Penguins doctors have cleared Sidney Crosby to begin practicing with his teammates in non-contact situations. The Penguins captain, who has been out of action because of a concussion since Jan. 6, will join his teammates during their game-day skates – his first team activity since his return to the ice.
“While he’s cleared to return to practice, we don’t anticipate him practicing with us all the time. It’s going to be a situation with game day skates. It’s a natural return for his progression,” said Penguins general manager Ray Shero. “I have no expectations of him coming back and playing in the regular season, that’s not going to happen. In terms of playing in the playoffs for us, that’s something that’s still two or three weeks away. I don’t want to take any hope away from the players, but to return to game action for the Stanley Cup playoffs takes a certain type of fitness and game-ready. He is certainly not close to that at this point.”
The Penguins will limit Crosby’s action to game day skates and not off-day practice for the time-being. If all goes well for a long enough period of time, Crosby could be cleared to begin practicing with contact.
The team remains cautiously optimistic that he could possibly return to the ice sometime during the playoffs.
