“I have never seen anything like this in my life”: what is known about the severe jaw injury of the SKA hockey player Zykov

“He has a serious fracture of the facial bone”

Hockey is not only beautiful pucks, spectacular combinations and bright goalkeeper saves.

Going on the ice often results in serious injuries even for professional players.

An example of this was the frightening injury to Valentin Zykov, which the SKA striker received in the very first minute of the KHL regular season match with Ak Bars.

As soon as the opponents played the puck, the striker rushed after it to the central zone.

He tried to cover Alexander Radulov, but he managed not only to give the transfer to his partner, but also to firmly put his left shoulder towards him.

Zykov at the last moment began to raise his hand, but this did not save him.

Valentin at full speed crashed face-first into an opponent and immediately collapsed onto the ice.

Teammates and members of the medical staff rushed to his aid.

It seemed that the hockey player received a concussion.

A minute later, doctors from St. Petersburg took him to the locker room.

Valentin did not go to the site anymore.

SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg initially demonstrated to the judge that Radulov had violated the rules by making a prohibited movement with his elbow.

Alexander himself assured that he performed a clean power reception.

As a result, the arbitrators went to the monitor to study the episode for a large fine, but took the side of the Kazan player - he did not even receive a two-minute suspension.

After that, the teams showed productive hockey, and the hosts eventually won with a score of 7:4 and interrupted a series of three defeats in a row.

And only after the final siren it became clear how terrible damage Zykov received.

A photo of the victim was posted on social networks, which showed that he had lost almost all of his upper teeth.

Rotenberg at a press conference said that the ward was promptly taken to the hospital and took pictures.

There he underwent surgery.

“Difficult moments - our Petrograd boy Valya Zykov dropped out in the first shift.

He has a severe facial fracture.

It's not very good.

We have a lot of players left before the end of the season... Now I just want to wish Zykov a speedy recovery.

What happened rallied our team, due to this we snatched the victory.

We dedicate it to Valentine, ”the official website of the club quotes the specialist.

At the same time, he found it difficult to answer the question whether there had been a violation of the rules by Radulov.

“We need to look at whether it was intentional infliction of injury or not.

We have professional judges, a disciplinary department that should deal with such moments.

At the same time, every hockey player must remember that you can’t relax even for a split second, you need to take a hit and not lower your head, ”added Rotenberg.

Kazan coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov also wished a speedy recovery to the opponent.

The striker was also supported by partners, for example, Dmitry Yashkin.

“Injuries are always unpleasant to see, it’s an accident.

I hope Valya is doing well, and we will see him soon, ”Match TV quotes the words of the hockey player.

“Zykov will be shown a removable prosthesis”

To understand how the hockey player received such serious damage after a conventional power hold, RT turned to Sergey Shamanaev, a plastic and maxillofacial surgeon.

In his opinion, Zykov had no problems with his teeth before, but the blow on Radulov's shoulder turned out to be too strong.

The doctor suggested that in addition to losing teeth, the attacker received a through laceration and bruised wound of the lip.

“Kapa could help Zykov, because the blow would not have come out so powerful.

His upper teeth were damaged because his head was tilted down.

Moreover, most likely, he opened his mouth a little.

Hence the traumatic fracture of the alveolar process of the upper jaw with the traumatic removal of most of the teeth and dislocation of one of them,” said Shamanaev.

He also explained what goals his colleagues pursued by performing an emergency operation on the athlete.

“Most likely, the reposition of fragments of the alveolar process of the upper jaw was performed.

With a high degree of probability, the victim had a dislocated tooth removed, which stands out in the photo.

And if, nevertheless, there was a through torn-bruised wound of the lip, it was sutured, ”added Shamanaev.

Also, in his opinion, at the moment it does not make sense for the victim to insert implants if he plans to continue active sports, since repeated injury will lead to even worse consequences.

“Probably, Zykov will be shown a removable prosthesis, which will have to be removed for the duration of the matches.

Even after the completion of a career, prosthetics on implants are possible.

In the meantime, we can advise you to take advantage of what happened and turn a toothless smile into a brand, as Alexander Ovechkin did, ”Shamanaev concluded.

In turn, the former doctor of the Russian national hockey team, Alexander Rezepov, called the possible recovery time for the player.

He believes that after two or three weeks the striker will be able to perform some exercises on the ice and in the gym, but full-fledged skating, according to him, is possible only in a few months.

“Everything will depend on the volume of the reconstructive operation.

There is a possibility that, due to the complexity, it will be carried out in several stages, ”the Metaratings physician quotes.

According to Rezepov, during surgical interventions, forecasts may change.

And only after completing all the necessary procedures, it makes sense to make predictions regarding the return to service.

“Often with these injuries, nerve damage occurs and problems can arise.

It happened that after a fracture of the upper jaw, the player's vision was restored for a very long time.

The optic nerve was injured and he could not see well with one eye, ”the doctor added.

“Judging by the photo, it was as if there were no teeth at all”

According to experts interviewed by RT, what happened to Zykov is an accident, and there is nothing to blame for Radulov.

So, the world champion Maxim Sushinsky called the power reception in his performance absolutely clean.

“There was no rudeness in his actions.

Please note that Alexander did not raise his elbow and did not make hand movements.

As it rolled, so it rolled.

It just so happened that the opponent lowered his head a little and the blow hit him exactly in the upper jaw.

It is unlikely that Radulov planned to knock out his teeth.

In hockey, dozens of power moves are carried out in every match - this is the norm, ”said Sushinsky.

The famous coach Fedor Kanareikin agreed with him.

He also drew attention to the fact that an experienced forward in this episode did not raise his elbow or arm, but met his opponent strictly with his shoulder in full accordance with the rules.

The reason for such a serious injury, he considered a second loss of concentration by the SKA player.

“In my opinion, Valentin was just very unlucky.

Maybe he was distracted by something or stared at the puck.

Just when a hockey player is not fully ready for a power reception, things end badly.

If it was fully assembled, the damage would not be so great.

Everything happens in an instant, ”the specialist explained.

At the same time, Sushinsky admitted: he had never seen such serious damage to the jaw in his life and did not understand how this could happen to a hockey player at all.

“Maybe Zykov’s teeth were already shaking or weakly held.

This is real trash.

Judging by the photo, they didn't exist at all.

I myself had a maximum of two teeth knocked out at a time.

And that happened when I was a child, when I gave my mask to the goalkeeper.

This did not happen again, although until the end of his career he always played without a cap and a mask, ”the former striker of the Russian national team emphasized.

The cap, which hockey players put on just to protect the jaw, according to the world champion, helps out only with direct hits of the puck or stick, and in such cases it is powerless.

Kanareikin also complained that many players refuse to use it.

“We don’t know if Zykov played with or without a cap.

The fact is that some hockey players do not like to wear a mouthguard at all.

It's hard for them to breathe with it in their mouth.

At the same time, no coach will force the wards to use it.

Everyone decides for himself whether he wants to insure himself against jaw damage.

Purely humanly, one can only feel sorry for Valentine, ”the coach complained.

At the same time, both experts expressed confidence that the striker would definitely return to the ice, despite the unpleasant injury and would not be afraid to go under power moves.

“I myself experienced four concussions and found the strength to play again.

This is hockey, and here you risk injury every day.

People don't end their careers after that.

Only cowards do not return, ”said Sushinsky.

Kanareikin also emphasized that hockey players have a special structure of the psyche.

Even when faced with great health troubles, they find the strength to forget about them after a while and calmly continue performing.

“In my lifetime, I have seen a lot of head injuries: people got concussions, lost consciousness, broke bones.

This is what happened with Zykov.

I think then he will calmly go out on the ice again.

Believe me, everything is gradually erased.

Time cures.

Now the main thing for him is not to rush into the game, but to fully recover and put himself in order, ”summed up the specialist.