| | NEW YORK -- Bryan Berard of the Toronto Maple Leafs had his
retina reattached after being accidentally hit with a hockey stick,
but it's not certain if he will regain sight in his right eye.
| |  | |
| Berard |
The 23-year-old former NHL rookie of the year and U.S. Olympian
underwent 4½ hours of surgery Tuesday at Columbia Presbyterian
Medical Center.
Dr. Stanley Chang operated on the severely damaged retina but
the team did not elaborate on Berard's condition.
Berard was released from the medical center Thursday and will travel to his home in Rhode
Island, the Maple Leafs said.
Tom Laidlaw, Berard's agent, told Toronto news station Cable
Pulse 24 on Tuesday that it is too soon to speculate on a possible return to
hockey. The NHL does not permit players to play if they have sight
in only one eye.
Laidlaw added that
Berard hopes to come back to Toronto early next month to accompany
the Leafs.
"I guess it depends on how comfortable he feels and how the eye
progresses," Laidlaw said.
Berard has been unable to see out of his right eye since being
hit by Marian Hossa's stick blade during Toronto's 4-2 victory
March 11 at Ottawa. Berard, who was not wearing a visor, crumpled
to his knees. A large pool of blood formed on the ice.
He sustained a cut cornea, detached retina and a fracture of the
orbital bone surrounding the eye.
"Bryan's a lot more optimistic than he was after the injury,
obviously, and he realizes that his chances of seeing 100 percent
out of that eye again are not very good," Laidlaw told Canada's
The Sports Network.
"But there's a good chance he'll regain some or a lot of that
vision, and we'll see what happens. The hockey portion of it,
although it's on his mind ... right now he's just trying to worry
about seeing again."
Berard was selected No. 1 in the 1995 draft. After he refused to
play for Ottawa, the Senators traded him to the New York Islanders.
He played for a Detroit junior team and was defenseman of the
year in Canadian junior hockey in 1996. He moved up to the NHL and
made an immediate impression, earning the Calder Trophy in 1997 as
top rookie.
Toronto acquired Berard for goalie Felix Potvin on Jan. 9, 1999.
In 64 games this season, Berard had three goals and 27 assists. | |
ALSO SEE
Leafs' Berard requires more surgery on eye
Hossa visits Berard before his transfer to Toronto hospital
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