Maple Leafs defenceman Mark Fraser with battle stitches above his right eye is aware of an X-ray on the Internet that is purported to be of his injured skull.
But he said Thursday that he hasn’t seen graphic image and wasn’t certain if it was him.
“I haven’t seen anything, but to be honest I can’t bring any validity to anything,†Fraser said when asked about the X-ray during the Leafs locker clean out at the Air Canada Centre.
“I wasn’t the one taking the picture and I haven’t even seen it.â€
The X-ray clearly shows a nasty gaping hole in a skull — in the same area where Fraser was struck by a rising puck from Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic in Game 4 of their recently-concluded playoff series.
Fraser, who doesn’t wear a visor, dropped to the ice as if he had been shot, and wasn’t able to play the final three games of the series, which the Bruins won 4-3.
On Thursday, he sported a nasty-looking stitched cut above his right eye.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually seen it,†Fraser said. “I took the bandage off for the team picture. I didn’t want to have a big bandage on my head.â€
The injury also affected his sinuses, he said.
He’s expected to make a full recovery in time for the Leafs training camp in September.
