U.S. hockey player Amanda Kessel said she crashed “headfirst into the boards” in a freak accident several months before the Sochi Olympics, according to The New York Times, detailing her pre-Olympic concussion.
“Somebody tripped, took out my legs and I went headfirst into the boards,” Kessel said, not able to recall where or when it happened.
Kessel also is considering trying to play in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, according to the report, which would be a remarkable return after nearly two years away from competition.
In fall 2013, Kessel did not play in the U.S.’ Olympic lead-up games against international opponents due to what she said was a hip injury.
That came after she broke out as the NCAA Player of the Year for an undefeated University of Minnesota team and scored the game-winning goal in the 2013 World Championship final.
Kessel did play at the Sochi Olympics, tying for the team lead with six points and earning a silver medal, but then sat out with post-concussion effects until returning to the University of Minnesota lineup this month.
“Going into Sochi, I felt well,” Kessel said, according to The New York Times. “Then a week and even months after, I noticed these weird things that I thought were normal, but they weren’t — sensitivity to light, headaches, fogginess, and I was nauseous all the time. I couldn’t figure out why, because I wasn’t hit again or anything.”
MORE: Canadian Prime Minister trolls President Obama with Olympic joke