MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that, as training camp is winding down, the Red Wings’ injured players are losing valuable preparation time, as coach Jeff Blashill emphasized on Saturday afternoon:
Robby Fabbri did not practice Saturday. He appeared to get injured during Friday’s scrimmage but finished the game. He joined Darren Helm, Evgeny Svechnikov and Bobby Ryan as players declared “unfit to play,” some or all of whom might not be ready for the season-opener. Teams are not permitted to reveal injury/illness information until the start of the season.
Depending on how long a player is out, he will need some practices before being cleared to play.
“The longer you miss, the more (practice) time you’d need,” Blashill said. “The guys that have missed a significant amount of time, it’s hard to put them back in on short notice. Guys that have missed a day or two, it’s a little bit easier. Every guy is a different situation and we’re not going to put a player in, regardless of his name or stature, if he’s not ready to play. Ultimately, those guys need to be 100 percent or pretty close to be effective. Part of being 100 percent is being in game shape, spending enough time in practice that you can react accordingly. So, it may take some time for some of those guys.”
