Virtue in no rush to return

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This article was published 13/01/2011 (5567 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — The last time Tessa Virtue had surgery, she rushed back too soon and competed the better part of the next two seasons in pain.

Virtue is taking a more cautious approach this time around.

She and partner Scott Moir, the defending Olympic ice dance gold medallists, are still weighing their odds over whether to compete at next week’s Canadian figure skating championships in Victoria.

“Tessa is doing really, really well, it’s just a question of whether they’ve come along far enough that they’re comfortable competing,” William Thompson, Skate Canada’s CEO, said. “That’s the thing when you’re coming back from an injury like this, the timing is hard to know.

“The good news is, it seems like she’s now pain-free for the first time in years, so that’s fabulous.”

Virtue underwent surgery in September to alleviate the chronic aching in her lower legs caused by compartment syndrome — a condition caused when the muscles can’t expand within the tissue that contains them. The surgery, according to Canadian team doctor Marni Wesner, involves slicing open the compartment, much like slicing open the casing of a sausage.

The 21-year-old from London, Ont., had the same surgery — but on different lower-leg muscles — in the fall of 2008, and she and Moir were back to win the Canadian championships less than four months later.

But the pain lingered, and in hindsight, Virtue believes she rushed back too quickly. She and Moir captured Olympic gold in Vancouver despite aching in Virtue’s legs that was at times so severe it made just walking to the cafeteria in the athletes village excruciating.

“Obviously we would love to have them at Canadians, they’re huge for us, they’re Olympic champions,” Thompson said. “On the other hand, I really want them to recover properly, I don’t want them to rush and cause more problems.”

Thompson said Skate Canada hasn’t set a deadline for the ice dancers’ decision.

Patrick Chan of Toronto, who won the Grand Prix Final in December for his first major international title, headlines the event, Jan. 21-23 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

The field is already missing Joannie Rochette, who hasn’t competed since she won bronze at the Vancouver Olympics less than a week after the death of her mom.

The pairs field is missing former world bronze medallists Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison.

Thompson wouldn’t be surprised if Virtue and Moir do make an appearance in Victoria — with the international season about to pick up, and with two new programs they have yet to perform, they could use a competition under their belt.

“They really love to compete, that’s just the way they are,” Thompson said. “I think they would really like to get back, put a program out in a competition environment, so if they can possibly do it, I think they will.”

Virtue and Moir’s next competition would be the ISU Four Continents, Feb. 15-20 in Taiwan. The season wraps up with the world championships March 21-27 in Tokyo. Virtue and Moir, a native of Ilderton, Ont., are the defending world champions.

The two aren’t required to skate in Victoria, and if they decide to take a pass on nationals, Thompson said Skate Canada would send officials to the ice dancers’ training base in Canton, Mich., to provide feedback on their new programs.

 

— The Canadian Press