Kuraly breaks his silence, reveals the extent of his injury following scary incident against Leafs last week

Just under a week ago, we saw the Leafs travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets, skating away with a 4-1 win in the contest. During the late stages of the first period, a scary ordeal had occurred involving Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly, who had taken a hit behind the Leafs' net from Jake McCabe, which left him in some distress and in need of immediate medical attention.

As Kuraly made his way to the Blue Jackets bench, hunched over in pain, it quickly became apparent that his injury was concerning to both he and the Jackets. The concerned heightened after he appeared to collapse against the wall in the tunnel, leading to a lot of panic on the Blue Jackets bench, who frantically waived for EMT's to make their way across the ice and to the Blue Jackets' medical room.


After the fact, the Blue Jackets had released a statement on Twitter/X confirming that Kuraly had suffered an abdominal injury and that he had been sent to a medical facility in Columbus for a litany of tests, but that he was expected to make a full recovery. Finally, on Friday, Kuraly has broken his silence and revealed the extent of his injuries and how he was feeling at the time of the hit.


Kuraly told the media in Columbus on Friday that when he was hit by McCabe, it drove the butt end of his stick into his ribs, causing a contusion. As he was skating to the bench, past the officials, he uttered something under his breath that caused a great deal of concern among everyone within earshot.


Moments after having said that is when the panic ensued on the Blue Jackets bench, who were frantically waiving over to the referees and EMT's for immediate help.


The veteran forward also revealed that it took him about 10 minutes to catch his breath and that he was also very lightheaded due to the pain. If you've ever had the wind knocked out of you, you'll know that it can be a scary feeling in the moment. He also confirmed that he never actually lost consciousness during the ordeal, despite some reports to the contrary.

With Kuraly still out day-to-day, he will not be in the lineup when the Leafs visit the Blue Jackets tonight. His next opportunity to get into a game will be tomorrow in Buffalo against the Sabres or on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins. The Blue Jackets also play on Thursday and next Saturday.