Matt Duchene Injury: "I Wasn't Sure If It Was Career Threatening"
Duchene talks about the serious finger injury he sustained on March 26 after being hit in the hand by a puck.
Matt Duchene opened up about the serious injury he sustained after taking a shot to the hand in the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 26. Duchene left the game in the second period after being hit in the hand by a shot from teammate Dante Fabbro. Duchene lost the tip of his finger and has had two surgeries to repair the damage.
When asked about the moment he sustained the injury to his finger, Duchene said it wasn't initially something remarkable.
"I'll be honest, it didn't hurt as bad as other injuries I've had, but it just felt weird."
Duchene immediately removed his glove, saw his injured finger bleeding, and headed to the bench and down the tunnel.
"I pulled my glove off, looked at my finger, and that's the last time I've seen it," he said.
Duchene didn't fully grasp the severity of his injury right away - not until the doctor asked him for his glove.
"There's certain moments you won't forget," Duchene shared. "I'm sitting there and the doctor asked where my glove was, and I looked over and said, 'Why? Do you think there's a piece of my finger in there?'"
"I didn't know I had lost the part of the finger. I thought it just crushed it. They were hiding it from me, so they went and grabbed the tip out."
Duchene has had two surgeries to repair his finger, but the doctors couldn't reattach the tip. Instead they reattached the nail and inserted a pin to help the two broken bones heal properly.
Despite the gruesomeness of the injury, the prognosis for Duchene's recovery is very positive. Because no tendons were damaged, doctors expect that Duchene can make a full recovery and may be able to resume full activity in June.
"I've had a lot of injuries in my career," Duchene said. "And a lot of them are kind of painful. I broke my leg pretty bad, had probably over 100 stitches in my face, all that kind of stuff. That's kind of what you sign up for, but losing part of your body isn't one of them. So it's been mentally a little tough,"
Dealing with the injury wasn't the only mental challenge for Nashville's leading goal scorer.
"The hardest part was leaving the fight with the guys," Duchene revealed. "That was the hardest part for me - not being a part of that."
Duchene missed the remaining ten games of the season in which the Preds went 5-4-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons. But the veteran Duchene balances the disappointment of his injury and the way this season ended with the encouraging final push and an enthusiasm for what lies ahead for a different looking Nashville Predators team.
"I'm really excited for the next chapter here," Duchene said. "I've said it a thousand times, but I'll still say it. I love playing for this team. I love living in the city. I love the fans. It means the world to me to be here, and I'm just really excited for the future."
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