Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries: James Neal To Play Tuesday Despite Foot Injury

James Neal Injury: Oh, So That Wasn't A Broken Foot

James Neal is playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins game Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. This is good news for his injury-riddled team, who were preparing to be without their leading goal scorer for several weeks. Everybody thought he had a broken foot.

As it turns out, it wasn't a broken foot. It was a pre-existing condition (but we're going to assume the Penguins have good medical insurance and Neal will be fine), according to coach Dan Bylsma. Via Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Bylsma says Neal has bruise, not break. X-ray was misleading. Neal has pre-existing condition, not fracture, according to Bylsma. X-ray showed what looked like fracture in Neal's foot; MRI showed it to actually be bone bruise he'd gotten previously, according to Bylsma

So it's not that Neal is Mr. Tough Guy or that the Penguins just have awful doctors. Neal's just not in as bad a shape as everybody thought he was. Great news for the Penguins.

James Neal Injury: Despite Broken Foot, Penguins Forward Will Play Tuesday Night

Wait, you mean James Neal is going to play hockey in the NHL on Tuesday night, despite having a broken foot? Yes, that seems to be the case. Neal told reporters in Pittsburgh that he'll be playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins game against the Senators at CONSOL Energy Center on Tuesday, noting that he's "good to go."

It's quite the shift from Sunday afternoon, when Penguins coach Dan Bylsma addressed the media and said that Neal, the team's leading goal scorer, would be out "weeks" with a broken foot.

"James Neal in (Saturday) night's game late in the game received a shot to the foot, broke his foot. The next few days we'll see what that timetable looks like, but it's weeks, not days at this point."

Call it toughness, call it stupid, call it a bad original diagnosis. Whatever. He's almost certainly playing in the game on Tuesday night, as he practiced with his normal line in the morning skate and even took reps with the Pens top power play unit, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries: Jordan Staal, James Neal Out Several Weeks

The injuries just keep getting worse for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will now be without James Neal and Jordan Staal for multiple weeks.