Helm thinks he could play right now despite broken orbital bone

Darren Helm‘s string of freak injuries continued when he was struck in the face by a puck during an informal skate a week ago.

He has a broken orbital bone, but fortunately he won’t need surgery. In fact, if the Detroit Red Wings were playing games right now, he thinks he could be a part of them, according to the Detroit News.

Of course, it’s somewhat moot at the moment because the lockout hasn’t ended. With that in mind, Helm has decided to take some time off from the informal skates he’s been attending and just let the injury heal.

“If I really wanted to, I could go out there,” Helm said in an MLive.com report. “It hurts moving around, kind of getting bumped around. I’d be wearing a full cage, but when I get blood flowing it starts kind of pulsing a little bit.

“We’re not playing, so there’s no sense to put it in too much aggravation, so I’m going to let it heal as much as I can.”

Helm also needed nine stitches, which he thinks brings the count up to 61 since last Christmas.

“Hockey gods aren’t on my side right now,” Helm said. “I might have to do something to fix that, but it’s hockey.”