Nell Gives Progress Update On Face Injury

Swindon Wildcats' head coach Aaron Nell is hoping to return to the ice sooner rather than later, as his recovery process following a horrific facial injury sustained against Sheffield Steeldogs progresses well.

Nell was struck by a wayward hockey stick when defending against the Steeldogs and was left with a nasty cut across his cheek and bridge of the nose.

Stitched up and slighty swollen Nell watched from rink side last weekend, as his side defeated Guildford Flames in overtime before going on to narrowly lose to Peterborough Phantoms in controversial circumstances. 

Speaking to media following the final buzzer on Saturday Nell gave a positive update on his race back to full match fitness.

"I'm fine. I'm just waiting for the swelling to go down and to get a few more check ups at the hospital," Nell began.

"I got very lucky, if I didn't wear my helmet how I did, I probably would have lost an eye," he added.

Big win in Sheffield last night, for people asking Aaron has been stitched up and is on the road to recovery! pic.twitter.com/TU8YibUqql

— Swindon Wildcats (@SwinWildcats) February 29, 2016

Reflecting on the incident which occured back in Sheffield, Nell said: "We've seen video and it was stupid.

"How the guy didn't get a penalty was a bit of a joke. People chirp me around the league about how I wear my visor, but if I don't wear it like that I lose an eye - that was the scary bit of it all," he added.

With no certain time estimations on Nell's return, the head coach is hopeful he will be lacing up his skates again sooner rather than later.

"I'll be back before the end of the season, we'll see. I get my stitches out on Tuesday, so we'll see, maybe Wednesday or maybe the weekend," said Nell.

While his injury fully heals Nell will be spending time rink side - a rarity given his high-action involvement week-in week-out with the Wildcats. 

This opportunity to watch from the sidelines however is something the player coach is taking as a positive, observing his troops from a different perspective.

"It was good to watch a bit more and standing up a bit higher you get to see more of the game, so that was good. We're playing well at home, I think we've only lost four and one in overtime all year so it's important going into the play-offs," said Nell.

Swindon Wildcats are back in action at the Link Centre this Wednesday, March 9, for their final midweek game of the season. They come up against Milton Keynes Lightning, face-off 7.45pm.