AHL Belleville Senators

O'Brien Progressing in Recovery from Severed Tendon

Published on November 22, 2018 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


It was nothing more than a fluky injury.

During the Belleville Senators' preseason game against the Laval Rocket on Sept. 29, the skate of a Rocket defenceman caught the only unprotected part of Jim O'Brien's lower right leg causing a severed tendon that would put the Sens' veteran forward on the shelf for a minimum of four months.

But the 29-year-old is already on the mend as he's seven weeks into his recovery.

"The recovery is going good," O'Brien said. "It seems like time is flying by. It was frustrating but it was kind of a fluke that it happened and there's nothing you can do.

"It's one of those unavoidable injuries."

The injury came at an unfortunate time for not just O'Brien, but also the Senators, as it took their top right-handed center out of the line-up for the foreseeable future.

For O'Brien, he was primed for a big year in Belleville after a memorable 2017-18 season where he secured himself an NHL contract with Ottawa, playing in 10 games and registering an assist, while also finishing as Belleville's second top-scorer with 29 points (13 goals) in 60 games. He had also scored twice the night before his injury in the Sens' first preseason game.

With Belleville nearly 20 games into the season, O'Brien's recovery is starting to pick up now that he's mobile once again.

"The first 4-6 weeks I wasn't doing too much but now that I'm in a walking boot I can start doing some workouts and some therapy so it's gotten a lot easier recently," O'Brien said.

As for that estimated 4-6 month timeline for recovery?

"It's still where it is right now," O'Brien said. "I guess we're not at the point right now where it can start to change. Everything is going great so far but it's still kind of a long ways away and there's still a few steps to go."

O'Brien admits it's been difficult to be sat in the stands watching each night but is also excited to now be back in Belleville with the team on a day-to-day basis after spending the first month or so of his recovery in Minneapolis after surgery.

"It's been frustrating but at the same time I'll be back playing this year and I've just got to look forward to that."

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