<
>

Sidney Crosby doing on-ice workouts

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby has resumed on-ice workouts near his home outside Halifax, Nova Scotia, with hopes he'll be ready for training camp, general manager Ray Shero told ESPN.com Friday.

Crosby missed the entire second half of last season after being diagnosed with a concussion Jan. 6.

Shero and Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, both confirmed that Crosby has resumed his normal summer training routine, which includes a mid-July return to on-ice workouts with friends.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review first reported Thursday night of Crosby's workout resumption.

Crosby, who will be 24 in August, did not play after Jan. 5 last season following back-to-back blows to the head. The first was suffered when then-Washington Capitals forward David Steckel clipped the former NHL scoring champion during the Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on New Year's Day.

Then, during the Penguins' next game, Crosby was slammed into the end boards by Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman.

"He's at home and back on the ice and doing his off ice per a scheduled routine," Shero said in an e-mail Friday. "Plan is to continue to build up and be ready for training camp."

Brisson said Crosby had been skating "for a while" as part of his usual summer conditioning. However, Crosby has yet to face physical contact in any of his on-ice sessions.

The Penguins were eliminated in seven games in the first round of the playoffs by the Lightning. Crosby was on pace for an enormous season at the time he sustained the concussion, and was leading the NHL with 32 goals and 66 points in 41 games.

He last worked out on the ice in April, in non-contact sessions with his Penguins teammates, before headaches returned and forced him to stop.

People close to Crosby now believe those headaches were caused by a sinus infection, and not symptoms of the concussion, the Tribune-Review reported.

Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.