NHL: Washington Capitals at Utah - Source: Imagn — Sports injury expert speculates "highly unlikely but possible" ACL injury for Alex Ovechkin (Image Credit: Imagn)

Sports injury expert speculates "highly unlikely but possible" ACL injury for Alex Ovechkin

Modified Nov 19, 2024 12:58 GMT

Alex Ovechkin went down after knocking knees with Utah’s Jack McBain on Monday, falling to the ice in considerable pain. He was eventually helped off the ice, had to go to the dressing room and did not return to the contest. Ovechkin is currently looking to set the all-time goals record this season, but this injury might derail that.

Whenever there's a clear leg injury, a torn ACL is a possible diagnosis. If it's that, he would be out for the rest of the season and some of next season possibly. At his age, there's no telling how Ovechkin would come back from that.

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Fortunately, sports injury expert Dr. Harjas Grewal doesn't believe that's the most likely situation, saying:

"Concern is an MCL injury for Ovechkin. Time off depends on grade and although it is hard to gauge grade by video, there wasn’t an extreme amount of inward stress so hopefully grade 1 or 2 and max 4-6 weeks out. Will add that a torn ACL is also possible but highly unlikely in my opinion."

Grewal believes it's likely an MCL sprain, though that's far from an ideal situation for Ovechkin or the Washington Capitals. That still means potentially two months off, which hurts their chances of maintaining their 13-4-1 start and Ovechkin's chances of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record this season.

Capitals reflect on Alex Ovechkin injury

Right now, it's unclear exactly what happened to Alex Ovechkin, but the options aren't good. He will undoubtedly miss some time with a knee injury. How long remains to be seen.

Alex Ovechkin went down with an injury (Imagn)

His Washington Capitals teammates reflected on the potential loss of their star player. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren said, via ESPN:

"I don't even know if there are words to describe it. It's beyond impressive what he does. He's our leader. It's tough to see him go down."

Coach Spencer Carbery said:

"He's been phenomenal this year, leading the charge and our team, not only from a leadership standpoint and in the locker room, but on the ice as well. In times where you need these types of games, you need guys to step up and score or make a big play, he's continued to do that."

It will be tough for the Caps to withstand a loss like Ovechkin during the NHL season.