Ryan Miller Says Injury From Milan Lucic Hit May Have Been in Neck, Not Concussion

by

Nov 28, 2011

Ryan Miller Says Injury From Milan Lucic Hit May Have Been in Neck, Not ConcussionWhen Ryan Miller was injured after getting hit by a speeding 228-pound Milan Lucic two weeks ago, it wasn't entirely surprising, considering the speed and size Lucic was carrying through the offensive end. It was a bit odd, however, that the initial diagnosis was a concussion, considering Lucic made no contact with Miller's head, which also never hit the ice.

Still, it would be dangerous for anyone to question the concussion, because head injuries are serious. You don't question the goings on in another man's head. Miller, though, took care of that himself on Monday, saying that he's not sure anymore whether he actually suffered a concussion.

"I feel good symptom-wise," Miller said after practice, according to The Buffalo News. "It was more neck and something where I aggravated a disc in my neck pretty good and we had an MRI and CT scan showing that which kind of backed that up and was the source of a lot of the tension and a lot of the discomfort. It definitely was limiting my range of motion.

"I don't know for certain what it was," Miller added. "It definitely felt … I took a good impact and definitely felt that way [that it was a concussion] but I also had some symptoms in my neck and that was proven through some tests."

The neck injury makes the most sense, as Miller's neck no doubt snapped rather violently as his helmet flew off his head.

Miller's Monday comments come in contrast to what he said a few days after the hit, when he spoke out against anyone who questioned the severity of his head injury.

"The one thing I was disappointed with the assessment or what came out of Boston and some of what came out of the league was it wasn't a head shot, so that was their conclusion to why the concussion maybe didn't come from that. I didn't know they were all doctors," Miller said on Nov. 15. "Concussions are caused by many things, one of them including a whiplash motion that sends your brain moving laterally or however you're hit. It doesn't need to be a direct impact. That fact alone — I'm rolling my eyes."

Miller only lightly participated in practice on Monday and hopes to practice fully on Wednesday, according to The Buffalo News.

Previous Article

Send NESN’s Tom Caron a Question for His Weekly Red Sox Mailbag

Next Article

Ryan Giggs Left ‘Totally Devastated’ By Death of Former Wales Teammate Gary Speed

Picked For You