Evil Eye: Okposo's injury revealed as a detached retina

(Ed. note: Apologies. I had cornea first, not retina. It is an injury to the retina. Sorry about the confusion)

NHL players who get hurt now fit into one of two categories;  "upper body injuries" and "lower body injuries." As in any entertainment field, what starts out as a creative, some might say ingenious, endeavor eventually gives way to watered down homogenization. And while that doesn't sit well with some, you can see why a competitor might want to keep his tender areas a secret.

Kyle Okposo's upper body injury was reported as a detached retina today by ESPN's Katie Strang, who confirmed the news via a source. Okposo was a surprise addition to the injured list immediately following the All Star Break and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks.

At the time of the announcement, coach Jack Capuano described the undisclosed injury as "a shock" and one he had an inkling was present in Okposo earlier. I guess getting a text from your top winger saying, "Yo Cap. My retina is detached! LOL" would probably qualify as a shocking development.*

As Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski notes, detached retinas aren't alien to hockey players. Los Angeles Philippe Boucher was hit with a puck and needed months to recover. Bryan Berard's gruesome eye injury also included a detached retina. DPKnees looked into this a little more closely and found other athletes who have had this happen to them, although circumstances vary.

This new doesn't really change the fact that the Islanders will be without a very effective player for over a month. As has been the theme of this season, the absence of an everyday starter will require their depth to weather yet more turbulence. Anders Lee gets his turn in Okposo's spot tonight against the Panthers.

But it does shed some light on why Okposo was suddenly shelved and how long his recovery time will most likely be. It appears as if players have recovered from detached retinas and continued their careers so we can hope to see the old Kyle Okposo back at some point.

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*Writer's dramatization