Penguins' Crosby using treatment to avoid surgery

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby will not need surgery to repair an injury to his right wrist, the team said Tuesday.

The Penguins on July 9 said Crosby had been receiving treatment for a wrist injury he sustained last season and surgery could be one solution.

"After seeking additional medical advice, doctors have decided not to perform surgery on Sidney Crosby's wrist," the Penguins said in a statement. "Sid will continue treatments and be evaluated regularly while he prepares for training camp in September."

Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Crosby opted for an injection rather than surgery, which could be needed in the future.

"If this treatment works, you avoid surgery and move on," Brisson told the newspaper Tuesday. "If it doesn't, he will have to go that [surgical] route."

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Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford on Wednesday told TSN 1050 Radio that Crosby will be ready for training camp.

"I don't know how the process is going to play out, but I was aware of this from the first day I got here," said Rutherford, who was hired June 6. "And however the rehab goes here leading up to the middle of September, I expect him to be 100 percent coming into camp."

After leading the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 104 points, Crosby had one goal and eight points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He did not have a point in the Penguins' final three games, all losses, after they took a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Second Round.

Brisson said Crosby was injured in March.

"He knew that something was wrong but kept going," Brisson said. "Obviously, you don't talk about these things (while involved in games), but you have to heal at some point."

Brisson said if a decision is made to have surgery it would come in a matter of weeks.

"It's a form of injection that has been proven to work, but sometimes it doesn't work," Brisson said. "I don't want to get into all the details. … It's a medical way of treating certain injuries."

The newspaper said Crosby met with new coach Mike Johnston last weekend. Johnston said he believes Crosby can avoid surgery.

"Those are some of the questions we asked our trainers and the doctors, and they feel fairly confident that the step they're making right now with no surgery is the right step," Johnston said. "Whether something happens down the road, I guess you can never speculate."

Crosby was awarded the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career on June 24 in Las Vegas. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award (formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award) for the second straight season and third time in his career.

During and after the playoffs Crosby said he was healthy, but a source told the Post-Gazette last week that Crosby "did play with a terrible wrist."