Sidney Crosby confirms latest concussion happened in practice

Sidney Crosby suffered a concussion after getting "tangled up" during practice, the Pittsburgh Penguins star told reporters Tuesday morning.

The injury occurred on Friday, according to Crosby, who also dealt with headaches Saturday. 

The Penguins announced Monday just a few days before the defending Stanley Cup champions are to open their season that the centre suffered at least his third concussion of his career.  

Crosby also told reporters he was "feeling pretty good" and that he "was happy to be able to skate today." 

Crosby felt good enough on Tuesday to spend close to an hour on the ice skating alongside injured teammates Bryan Rust and Matt Murray, but declined to set any sort of timeline on when he may return.

The Pittsburgh centreman also expressed confidence that he will be able to return to game action.

According to Crosby, the healing process is "day to day" at this point, adding that there is "no cut and dry."

Both Crosby and the team declined to get into specifics about what exactly happened, though he insisted the injury is a result of getting "tangled" with a teammate at practice and not something that occurred during the recently completed World Cup of Hockey.

Crosby finished as a Hart Trophy finalist as league MVP, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and led Team Canada to the World Cup title just a few months after winning his second Cup with the Penguins.

His short- and long-term future is in doubt after another concussion, an injury that has dogged him off and on over six years.

Coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Crosby was concussed in practice Friday and there was no timetable for his return.

The diagnosis came as the Penguins prepare to raise their championship banner Thursday night before a home game against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The Penguins have been able to survive without Crosby in the lineup, at least during the regular season. Evgeni Malkin won the Hart Trophy (MVP) and the Art Ross Trophy (leading scorer) after the 2011-12 season, a year in which Crosby was limited to 22 games as he continued to battle concussion-like symptoms.

"We know how we can play better with Sid, but we can play better without him, too," Malkin said. "We have great teammates and great leadership group here."

As encouraging as it was to see Crosby in the dressing room on Tuesday, the Penguins are taking nothing for granted.

"It makes your mind think maybe he's close, but these types of things are on their own timeline and no one compares to somebody else," forward Chris Kunitz said.

"The good thing is he understands what he's going through, and he'll be the best one to be able to come back from it."