View From The Nosebleeds: Sick Bay Update

As the infirmary of the Winnipeg Jets continues to be a popular place to be, and with information on injuries becoming decreasingly available from teams it takes a little digging to find out where players on on their roads to recovery.

The Jets have seen injuries at all positions thus far this year, with Chris Mason representing the goaltenders with a groin injury that kept him out for 7 games, the defense core has been completely ravaged by injuries, resulting in 12 defenders seeing the ice for the Jets this year as of the 26 game mark, and the long term absence of Eric Fehr, who is out again with an injured shoulder, has also left a hole in the depth chart. Couple that with Nik Antropov currently being out with injury and the Jets have relied quite a bit on depth through the early stretches of the season, and it must be mentioned that those players called up from the AHL affiliate St. John's IceCaps have filled in amicably.

Stay tuned for a complete rundown of how all the injuries are coming along after THE JUMP

5 of these guys should be back within the week, the other 2 would be lucky to play by the end of the month.

• Nik Antropov is sporting an undisclosed injury, though it's believed to be lower body as he left the game against Ottawa on November 29 after blocking a shot with his legs. He is believed to be coming back within the next week. playing tomorrow against Boston is unlikely, but Friday against Carolina is definitely an option.
• Randy Jones is also close to returning as he continues to practise with the team, albeit with a red 'no contact' jersey. He has been out of action since suffering an ankle injury November 3 against the Islanders. He too could rejoin the team, if needed, by the weekend.
• Brett Festerling has been practicing with the team, and is no longer sporting the red jersey. His injury was undisclosed other than "upper-body" after he had a collision with Jim Slater in practice in mid November.
• Ron Hainsey has a cut on his foot above the ankle that is taking a long time to heal, frequently re-opens, and cannot be stitched. The lack of healing and threat of infection has been keeping him out, though a return as early as Tuesday is not out of the question, though once again Friday seems like the safer bet.
• Eric Fehr is dealing with effects from off-season shoulder surgery, which is not what people in Jets land want to hear, after playing 5 games since returning from recovery from that surgery. He is likely to return by the weekend.
• Tobias Enstrom is skating with the team in practice, but is doing nothing involving his arms as he recovers from a broken collar bone suffered against Florida on Halloween. The goal return date is at the end of December or beginning of January.
• Derek Meech is out until early to mid January after undergoing surgery on his knee in mid November.

So that's where things stand as of December 5, 2011. It's not the greatest news in the world, but *knock on wood* if all goes well the infirmary could be empty by New Years. Until then, the AHL call-ups will just have to continue doing the bang up job they have been doing since pressed into action

Be sure to stay tuned as we'll keep you posted on any developments

GO JETS GO!