Cale Makar & Nathan MacKinnon potential injuries explained by expert

The seemingly extinction-level injuries to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon have left the Colorado Avalanche organization and fanbase reeling.

The 4-3 overtime loss wasn’t bad enough. The loss of two superstars has been positively Dickensian and has placed the spotlight on what could be the outcome of these two massive injury situations.

Well, physical rehab and sports therapy expert Darren McConaghy has shed some light on both situations. The renowned expert offered his opinion on what could have befallen both Makar and MacKinnon.

Nathan McKinnon could be dealing with a hip pointer

Let’s start with McKinnon. The crosscheck he took from Artem Zub in the second period of last night’s game didn’t seem menacing enough. But as McConaghy pointed out, the situation here is a combination of the location of the impact and the force applied.

That combo is what makes this injury particularly alarming.

So, a hip pointer is just a deep bruise around the hip section. Aside from being extremely painful, which Nathan MacKinnon made clear, it could lead to a limited range of motion and stiffness. It’s the type of thing you could try to play through, but there’s no real telling just how hard it might be to even attempt to skate at this point.

McConaghy also noted that internal organs may have been affected. If there’s anything along those lines, the situation would require careful medical monitoring to ensure there’s nothing of concern there.

According to most online literature, a hip pointer is something that ranges from a week to several weeks to recover, depending on the severity.

Let’s just hope this is a painful day-to-day thing that just requires a ton of ice.

Cale Makar could be dealing with an ongoing issue

As for Cale Makar, McConaghy believes his situation could be a little more complex. The suspicion is that the Norris Trophy winner is dealing with a groin injury. And in the sports rehab specialists’ opinion, this situation could have been the result of modified offseason training.

Now, why would Makar have modified offseason training? Well, please bear in mind that Makar was rehabbing that shoulder injury he sustained last season. That’s why he most likely had a lower-body-based exercise regimen.

And in that case, overloading one part of the body is asking for trouble. It’s not that Cale Makar did something wrong or anything, it’s just that the additional toll on the lower body led to this situation. In a way, it’s like dry brush. All it needs is a spark to go up in flames.

That’s kind of what’s affecting Makar here. He’s had a couple of plays in which a sensitive area got pushed, and, well, let’s just say he was not feeling well.

The prognosis on this one is really tricky. Makar could attempt to keep playing through the situation. But if it’s not getting any better, the likelihood is that the team will need to shut him down at some point.

Let’s see what happens. Friday will be a crucial day as the Avalanche will rest ahead of Saturday night’s tilt in Montreal.

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