Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang is already out on the ice in full skating gear, less than two weeks are suffering the second stroke of his career.
The 35-year-old was ruled out indefienlty by the Penguins after it transpired he had experienced another stroke, after his first incident back in 2014. He missed their 3-2 defeat to Carolina Hurricanes on November 30 through 'illness', but it was later diagnosed as a stroke.
After the Penguins released an initial statement on December 1, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan revealed a few days later that he was already making good progress, and had taken part in light skating. But on Tuesday morning he was filmed back out on the ice in full skating gear, firing pucks at the net in an astonishing turnaround.
Letang is known to be a tough guy for the Penguins, and he's close to racking up 1000 NHL appearances for the franchise after being drafted in 2005. But even by Letang's standard, this is impressive, as although it doesn't mean he will return to action anytime soon, it's certainly an inspiring return.
It's been less than two weeks since he suffered his second stroke, but thankfully the situation was not 'life threatening', and the Letang is not experiencing 'any lasting effects'. General manager Rob Hextall confirmed that his first stroke eight years ago was a lot more severe than his recent case.
Letang was out for two months in 2014 when suffering his first stroke, when tests revealed he was born with a very small hole in the wall of his heart, which typically closes on its own in most cases. It's an issue that Letang has gone on to raise awareness about, and amazingly he won two more Stanley Cup's with the Penguins after his first stroke.
Coach Sullivan has called Letang a 'fitness freak' in the past, and has since said that nothing will stop him from getting back out on the ice. "He’s such a fitness freak. That’s just part of his DNA. That’s his comfort zone. But our doctors are monitoring him very closely."
In Sullivan's initial update on Sunday, he said: "Everything that he’s doing at this point, he gets approval from our medical team. He is making progress and he’s in great spirits.
"We’re hopeful he continues to progress here so at some point here, we can re-engage him from a hockey standpoint." And Letang is also optimistic to get back on the ice soon, as he said: "I am fortunate to know my body well enough to recognise when something isn't right.
"While it is difficult to navigate this issue publicly, I am hopeful it can raise awareness. I am optimistic that I will be back on the ice soon."
Letang continues to make giant strides in such a short space of time, but due to the physical nature of hockey the medical experts must be certain he is fully fit before making a return. In July, Letang signed a six-year $36.6million (£30.75m) extension to stay with the Penguins, and he'll want to play as much as he can.
