It seems like it’s been ages since we’ve discussed the difficult road to recovery for Calgary Flames center Daymond Langkow. Yet the Flames passed along a rare bit of positive news: the useful forward has been cleared to resume light workouts while he tries to return after a scary broken vertebrate injury.
The most recent update on his possible return comes from Steve MacFarlane of QMI in the Toronto Sun, who writes that Langkow could be ready to play in actual NHL action in two to three months.
That would line up deep into the playoffs, which indicates that a 2011-12 return would be far more realistic. Of course, with an injury as serious as the one Langkow suffered in March 2010, it’s also possible that he might be forced into retirement.
For now, Flames players are just happy to see Langkow back around practice, being “one of the guys” again.What Langkow is rediscovering now is a bond with teammates who haven’t seen much of him since he shut down his on-ice activity early this season in his attempt to return from a fractured vertebra at the base of his neck — the result of an Ian White slapshot that hit him as he fell awkwardly during a game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul last March.
“It’s great,” said Moss, who skated with Langkow early in the year as he was rehabilitating from an injury of his own early this season. “Personally, I’ve known Langks for a long time and he’s a good friend. You miss guys like that around the room and on the road trips.
“When he’s around, I think all the guys love seeing him and like to see he’s doing better.”