Edmonton Oilers: Oscar Klefbom Opens Up About Staph
By Sammi Silber
The Edmonton Oilers lost one of their best defensemen in Oscar Klefbom this season thanks to a hand injury-turned severe staph infection. With the season over, and with months before training camp, Klefbom opened up about his season-ending injury and when he will be ready to return to the Oilers lineup.
Jason Gregor spoke to Klefbom on his show Monday, and they discussed the staph infection, what it will take to fix it and when and if he will be ready by the start of next year.
“I mean, the whole season has been a really weird, tough situation for me,” Klefbom told Gregor. “It’s been tough, especially mentally, it’s been a crazy season overall.”
Klefbom claims that the infected area on his foot started to grow irritated way back at the start of the Oilers’ preseason. His skates would rub against his skin in a particularly irritating way, and that would create problems for Klefbom considering he has thin skin.
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“There were some rubs on my ankle. I got some antibiotics right away and we had it under control,” Klefbom said. “It was fine for a couple of weeks, but then it came back again. We still had it under control and I got a bunch of antibiotics, but then when I broke my knuckle, I got some days off and the ankle was pretty good too.”
The Oilers defender then discussed how he was hospitalized after Christmas break, when his entire ankle swelled up and turned red. He was almost finished recovering from his knuckle injury at the time, but this was something that would continue to keep him off the ice. Klefbom got surgery to remove the infection, and all was fine, until it came back.
“I got really scared and I went to several doctors to see what was going on and they all told me that we had to have another surgery and clean it out again,” Klefbom said.
The second surgery involved new skin and more taken out, and this really wore down his skin.
“At that point, the skin is so fragile, it’s so thin. So every time I’m in the skate it just breaks and starts to bleed again.” Klefbom told Gregor.
With next season coming, and posing the question of when he will return, Klefbom wants to finally come back, as he feels ready to go. The only thing stopping him? His skates rub against his ankle the wrong way. He needs the right pair of skates that won’t irritate his skin and will allow him to play without breaking his skin.
“I have almost four or five skates going on right now, just to find a good solution for the off-season here,” Klefbom said. “I’m probably going to go to Montréal sometime in June to see the guys at the Bauer factory to make another skate, just to get this over with. The skin is really, really good right now, but we’re just going to make sure I get the best possible skate next season so I don’t have the problem when I come back to Edmonton.”
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The entire interview with Klefbom can be read here. He goes on to discuss Connor McDavid and his rooming experience, as well as his mentality while recovering.