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Crosby cleared for contact, could be back in the lineup soon

Sid Crosby

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is shown during practice in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. Crosby skated with his teammates for the first time in more than a month on Friday but still has no idea when he’ll be cleared to practice, let alone see action in a game. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

AP

Today in Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby took a big step towards playing hockey again. The Penguins captain was cleared for contact and had a “decent amount of it” at practice, reports Pens Inside Scoop.

According to Dave Molinari of the Post-Gazette, Crosby said he could play in a “matter of days,” provided there are no setbacks. But if he does return, it will be “no sooner than Sunday” when the Penguins host Boston.

Crosby (soft-tissue neck injury) declared he’s been symptom-free for a few days now.

“I’ve been through this before,” he said. “Contact is the big step. It’s nice to be symptom free, but it’s not as fulfilling until you get out there. I just want to make sure that I take the right steps here and get back out there soon

...“There were a lot of bumps [during today’s practice]. As soon as they knew I could get contact I was getting a lot of bumps, not even in drills. The lineup was a dangerous place to be today. It was fun to be out there with them and hopefully it’s a regular occurrence.”

...“I don’t think you’ll ever get what you’ll get in the game. There are the odd times in practice where that may happen. But as far as getting an elbow to the head or shoulder to the face, that won’t really happen in practice.”