John Carlson’s Wife Provides Update, Clarifies Blog Report

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson is still recovering at home and will be out indefinitely following a slap shot to the head on Dec. 23, and his wife, Gina, provided an update on him following his 33rd birthday on Tuesday.

Gina said that John is doing well, and posted a video of him playing with his three boys, Lucca, Rudy and Sawyer, at home. She also took time to clarify a story from a Capitals blog that said that Carlson's ear needed to be re-attached.

"His ear is healing well, thank you," she wrote on her Instagram story. "But I should clarify, I did not mean his ear was literally off his head like his ear wasn't detached on the ice."

She had written in a birthday post for Carlson on Tuesday that he had come home from the hospital on Christmas Eve with his "ear back on" and said that he had gotten right back into the holiday spirit by making cookies and helping arrange the presents for the family. By that, though, she clarified that his ear didn't come off.

(gnacarlson/Instagram)

Carlson suffered the injury in a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets when a Brenden Dillon shot caught him in the right side of the face. No. 74 fell to the ice immediately and started to bleed profusely from the head. His teammates rushed to get his assistance, and he went off with the athletic trainer before being transferred to an area hospital for further evaluation.

In 30 games this season, Carlson has 21 points. With him out, Trevor van Riemsdyk has been tasked with helping fill the void on the top pairing, while Erik Gustafsson has helped fill in for Carlson offensively.

The U.S.-born defenseman has been back around his team and recently stopped by Capital One Arena to see his teammates. Head coach Peter Laviolette said that Carlson was in high spirits and still has a "long road" back, as he will likely be out for months.

"He actually feels good," Laviolette said, adding, "He looked good to me, when you saw him the next day or the day after. He looked good last night, he sounded good, he looked good, which was really positive for us to see."