Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, who was injured earlier this week while playing for TPS Turku in Finland, underwent surgery to repair facial fractures today.
Even though he’s still in the hospital, he’s keeping us updated on his progress:
Surgery went really well and now just chillin in the recovery room #pillsaregoooood
— Alec Martinez (@amartinez_27) November 18, 2012
Seven hours of good pills later, he posted this follow-up:
Absolutely zero recollection of my last tweet haha, but if x-rays go well I’ll probably be able to go home tomorrow! Thx for the kind words!
— Alec Martinez (@amartinez_27) November 18, 2012
Martinez was struck in the face by a slapshot last Tuesday (if you missed it, you can watch the video here). The puck hit him just below his visor, and the impact was severe enough to shatter the cheekbone.
We don’t have many details so far, but Dustin Penner passed along the report that Martinez had six fractures and that metal plates would be put in. Metal plates are inserted to help stabilize and rebuild the face, and sometimes to support the eye socket.
No timeline for Martinez’s recovery has been given, but Matias Strozyk reports TPS had an estimate of “at least a month.” Typical recovery time for this kind of procedure is at least six weeks.
Martinez has been able to keep his sense of humor throughout the process, responding to well-wishes from fans and jokes by teammates. Let’s hope the updates on his progress continue to be positive.