Key Takeaways
- Joel Eriksson Ek fractured the calcaneus (heel bone) and Jonas Brodin fractured the great toe blocking shots in the 2026 NHL playoffs, both injuries that can hide behind a skate boot until the athlete tries to push off.
- Calcaneal fractures are the most common tarsal fracture and one of the most under-rehabilitated foot injuries, outcomes hinge on restoring heel height, width, and subtalar joint congruity.
- Great toe (first proximal phalanx) fractures in athletes are not minor. The hallux generates 40–60% of forefoot push-off force; a missed displacement or intra-articular step-off changes a season.
- Modern weight-bearing CT (which we use at P.O.W.) is the imaging standard for both injuries, because plain X-rays miss displacement in the calcaneus and joint involvement in the hallux.
- Early diagnosis, anatomic reduction when indicated, and a sport-specific return-to-play protocol drive whether you return to your sport in 6 weeks or 6 months.
The Hook: Two WILD VETERANS, Two Broken Feet, One Lost Series
On May 15, 2026, head coach John Hynes confirmed what Minnesota Wild fans had suspected through the second-round loss to the Colorado Avalanche: defenseman Jonas Brodin played the back half of the first round with a fractured great toe in his right foot, and center Joel Eriksson Ek went down in Game 6 against Dallas with a fractured calcaneus; the heel bone. Brodin had surgery; Eriksson Ek tried to skate through it. Both men ended up on a couch watching their team get eliminated in overtime in Denver.
As a board-certified orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon who treats hockey players, dancers, and weekend warriors at Prisk Orthopaedics and Wellness, I see the same two injuries every winter from far less glamorous mechanisms, falls from ladders, awkward landings off a curb, a misstep onto a pebble in the driveway. The lesson is the same in Monroeville as it is in St. Paul: when the calcaneus or the great toe break, you cannot push off, you cannot cut, and you cannot lie to yourself about it.
The Science: What's Actually Breaking, and Why It Matters
Calcaneus (heel bone) fractures
The calcaneus is the largest bone in the foot and the platform that absorbs the entire weight of the body at heel-strike. Most calcaneal fractures occur when a high-energy axial load, a fall from height, a motor vehicle accident, a slap shot at 95 mph drives the talus down into the calcaneal body. Roughly 60–75% are intra-articular, meaning the fracture line enters the posterior facet of the subtalar joint, the joint that allows the foot to invert and evert across uneven ground.
When the calcaneus breaks intra-articularly it loses three things that matter for athletic function: heel height (Böhler's angle, normally 20–40 degrees), heel width, and subtalar joint congruity. Lose any of those and you get a flat-footed, externally rotated, painful heel that cannot tolerate cutting sports. The Sanders classification, based on coronal CT, is what surgeons use to decide between non-operative care, open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), and primary subtalar arthrodesis. Sanders II and III displaced intra-articular fractures in active patients generally benefit from anatomic reduction with low-profile plates or minimally invasive sinus-tarsi approaches; Sanders IV comminuted fractures often go straight to subtalar fusion in high-demand patients.
Great toe (hallux) phalanx fractures
The great toe is the engine of push-off. The flexor hallucis brevis and longus pull through the sesamoids on the plantar surface of the first metatarsophalangeal joint; the proximal phalanx is the lever those muscles act on. A direct blow — a blocked shot, a dropped weight, a sled across the foot — most commonly fractures the proximal phalanx, sometimes intra-articularly into the MTP or interphalangeal joint.
Non-displaced extra-articular phalanx fractures often heal with a stiff-soled shoe or boot and a six-week protected period. But intra-articular fractures with greater than 2 mm of step-off, displaced fractures of the diaphysis with angulation, and any fracture-dislocation of the MTP joint warrant surgical fixation in an athlete. Miss this and you set the table for hallux rigidus, a stiff, painful first MTP joint that ends careers in dancers, sprinters, and skaters alike.
Imaging: Why Weight-Bearing CT Is the New Standard
Plain radiographs miss the magnitude of articular displacement in roughly 30–40% of calcaneal fractures and routinely under-call hallux phalanx fractures that drift over a weekend in a stiff boot. At P.O.W. we use a standing CT scanner (cone-beam, low-dose) that lets us see the calcaneus and great toe under physiologic load the way the athlete actually stands and pushes off. That changes management. A Sanders II that looks like a Sanders III on weight-bearing imaging gets fixed; a great-toe phalanx fracture that opens up under load gets pinned rather than buddy-taped.
The Solution at P.O.W.
If you fracture your heel or great toe, or you suspect you did because a blocked shot, a fall, or a stomp ended in a swollen, bruised foot you cannot push off on, the workflow at Prisk Orthopaedics and Wellness is fast and athlete-friendly:
- Same-week evaluation by Dr. Prisk with on-site weight-bearing CT (when safe to load) and high-resolution plain films.
- Sanders or AO/OTA-style classification of the fracture, with athlete-specific decision-making between non-operative care, percutaneous fixation, formal ORIF, or in rare comminuted cases, primary fusion.
- Same-week surgical scheduling with low-profile titanium implants and minimally invasive sinus-tarsi approaches for calcaneal fractures where indicated.
- Integrated rehab at Power Performance Physical Therapy with Josh Lombardi, DPT, CSCS — heel-protected progression, early non-weight-bearing range of motion, blood flow restriction (BFR) for quad and calf, and force-plate-guided return-to-sport testing before clearance.
- Optional regenerative adjuncts (PRP, BMAC) for soft-tissue and cartilage protection at the subtalar or MTP joint when clinically appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long am I out with a calcaneal fracture?
Non-displaced, non-operative fractures typically require 8–12 weeks of progressive weight-bearing before sport, with return to running between months 3 and 4 and return to cutting sports between months 4 and 6. Operatively fixed Sanders II/III intra-articular fractures in elite athletes can return to skating between months 4 and 6 if subtalar motion and heel mechanics are restored. Comminuted Sanders IV injuries are season-ending.
Is surgery always necessary for a broken big toe?
No. A truly non-displaced extra-articular fracture of the proximal phalanx is treated with a stiff-soled shoe or walking boot and buddy taping for 4–6 weeks. Surgery is reserved for displaced fractures, fractures with joint step-off greater than 2 mm, fracture-dislocations, and athletes who cannot afford the malunion risk of a fragment shifting in a boot.
Can I skate, run, or cut while it heals?
Eriksson Ek tried and could not push off, that is the body telling you the calcaneus and great toe are weight-transfer structures, not optional. Pushing through is how a stable, non-displaced fracture becomes a displaced, intra-articular one. We rehab around the injury with non-loading aerobic work, BFR for muscle preservation, and core training, then phase back into sport once imaging and force-plate symmetry support it.
Why do these injuries get missed?
Hockey skates, ski boots, and even thick-soled work boots compress the calcaneus and hallux and mask swelling. An athlete walks off the ice, ices the foot, and tells himself it is a bruise. Twenty-four hours later the bruise spreads, the foot will not bear weight, and the X-ray finally tells the truth. If you cannot push off through the great toe or you have to limp on the lateral border of the foot, get imaged.
What about return-to-sport testing?
At P.O.W., we do not clear an athlete based on calendar weeks. We use force-plate-derived limb symmetry indices (LSI), hop-test batteries, and sport-specific drills to make the call. A skater or cutter with less than 90% LSI on a single-leg countermovement jump is at meaningfully higher reinjury risk, regardless of how they say the foot feels.
Schedule with P.O.W.
If foot, ankle, or lower-extremity pain is keeping you off the field, ice, or stage, do not guess and do not Google your way through another season. Call Prisk Orthopaedics and Wellness, P.C. at (412) 525-7692 or book online at orthoandwellness.com. New patient evaluations typically available within a week.
About the Author
Victor R. Prisk, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle reconstruction and sports medicine, and is the CEO and Medical Director of Prisk Orthopaedics and Wellness, P.C. (P.O.W.) and its affiliated brands P.O.W.Fit and VRP Sciences. A former competitive bodybuilder and NCAA gymnast, he is the author of The Leucine Factor Diet and treats athletes from the recreational to the professional level. Dr. Prisk practices in the greater Pittsburgh region and accepts new patients at orthoandwellness.com.
