The recovery time for Nick Boyd, one of Kawartha Downs’ top drivers, following a hockey accident, is taking longer than anticipated, but he’s confident he’ll be ready for opening night at the Fraserville oval on May 27.
In January, Boyd was participating in a charity hockey tournament and, in trying to avoid a collision with a goalie, crashed into the boards and sustained multiple injuries, including a dislocated shoulder, fractured rib cage, punctured lung and what was thought to be a chipped shoulder bone.
It was later discovered that what was initially diagnosed as bone chips in his shoulder turned out to be the top of his shoulder fractured right off, an injury that should have been operated on when it first happened. Boyd underwent that surgery two weeks ago which involved multiple screws and is optimistic he’s now on the right road to recovery.
“It was frustrating that I missed all of that time I could have been rehabbing. But it’s done now. I had a check up yesterday and the doctor was really happy with it,” Boyd noted today (Wednesday, March 22).
“I start rehab tomorrow. When I explained to the doctor what I do he said it would likely be 10 weeks before I’m 100 per cent recovered. So I’ll be ready for the start at Kawartha. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Boyd ended the 2016 KD season in the fourth spot on the drivers’ leaderboard, but with the retirement at the end of the year of the track’s leading driver for many years, Gord Brown, there’s a strong possibility that position will move upward this year.
Kawartha’s 2017 season will get underway on May 27 and will run every Saturday night (except September 16) to September 30 with a 7 p.m. post.
(Kawartha Downs)