As reported here yesterday, Slovakian forward Tomas Kopecky was knocked out of Saturday's match with Slovenia when defenseman Sabahudin Kovacevic delivered a brutal elbow to Kopecky's head, rendering him unsteady and clearly in distress - and now on the shelf for the remainder of the Sochi Games.
Kopecky missed Sunday's shootout loss to Russia amid conjecture regarding his status going forward, but TSN's Bob McKenzie likely has cleared that up via Twitter, reporting that Kopecky will probably miss the rest of the tournament.
Tough OLY for FLA. Barkov out of tourney (knee). MRI today but expected to miss NHL time (weeks?). Kopecky (head), also expected out of OLY.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 16, 2014
Of course, McKenzie is speaking of Finland's Aleksander Barkov, Florida's teen prodigy who was forced to retire from the games with a knee injury who, together with Kopecky, were the lone representatives of the Florida Panthers in Sochi.
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| Less painful times: Kopecky (L) with Barkov in Florida (USA Today) |
In fact, Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat is reporting that Barkov's injury is severe enough to require surgery and may mean a disappointing end to his rookie season, while Slovakian-based websites are reporting that Kopecky has suffered a concussion and will miss the rest of the games and perhaps some NHL playing time as well.
While those reports remain unconfirmed, what is known for certain is that Kovacevic missed Slovenia's blowout loss to the United States on Sunday and will be back in action when eighth-seeded Slovenia faces ninth-seeded Austria for the right to advance to the Quarterfinals...
...while Slovakia must face rival Czech Republic without Kopecky for the same honor.
http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2014/02/panthers-tomas-kopecky-out-of-olympics.html#.UwFHgoUcq58
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