To coin a phrase, if it weren't for bad luck, Mikael Renberg wouldn't have any at all. The former NHLer, who has suffered an inordinate array of freak accidents during his career, has once again narrowly escaped a situation that could've turned out much worse than it did.

This time around, Renberg (now a member of Skellefteå AIK) sustained a fractured jawbone in a game just before Christmas. That in and of itself is not all that unusual in hockey.

Nor is Renberg's insatiable drive to return to the lineup as soon as possible. This is the same man who got accidentally kicked in the face by Randy Cunneyworth's skate in 1997, was rushed to the hospital and received over 200 stitches between his chin and upper lip. Two days later, he showed up for practice two days later anxious to return immediately to the lineup. The Flyers told him he wasn't allowed on the ice yet.

What makes this situation so strange is that Renberg apparently misunderstood his doctor's instructions, and attempted to return to the lineup in a single week, with his only concession to the jaw injury and facial swelling being to don a full face shield.

Renberg even warmed up with his team, until he was informed that he was medically forbidden from being back on the ice so soon. He was told afterwards that he risked permanent damage by trying to return that quickly.

***

Here's a timetable of some Renberg's more serious injuries, freak accidents and brushes with fate:

-- 1995-96: Renberg undergoes pre-season hernia surgery and rushes back into the lineup for opening night. The injury recurs, more serious than before, a few months later, as the abdominal muscle tears completely. Renberg plays in the playoffs, going through a pre-game routine of being numbed before each game.

-- 1996-97: He suffers the aforementioned deep facial cuts from getting kicked by Randy Cunneyworth's skate in the opening seconds of a Flyers-Senators games. To add insult to injury, referee Paul Stewart assessed a holding penalty to Renberg on the play.

-- 1997-98: Sustains a broken hand that seemed to alter the mechanics of his follow-through upon his return.

--1998-99: Suffers a broken thumb with Tampa Bay. With the Flyers, sustains a separated shoulder in December and cracked ribs in the next to last game of the regular season.

-- June 2002: Renberg goes out boating in the northern Swedish archipelago with his father, former pro soccer player Bo Renberg. Mikael was trying to pull up the anchor of the 25-foot boat when he slipped and fell in the water. The propeller blade hits his right arm and slices through the muscle in his bicep.

Fortunately, the boat was in less than five feet of water and Renberg’s father and friends were able to rescue him and get medical help. The propeller did not sever any of the nerves in Renberg’s arm and doctors at the hospital were able to stop the bleeding. He did not sustain permanent damage.

-- Fall 2003: While with the Maple Leafs, Renberg sustained a blister on his hand from tying his skate laces. He thought nothing of it at the time but the blister became infected.

Renberg took sick with a high fever and was hospitalized. Doctors were able to treat the infection and bring down his fever. If these treatments were unsuccessful, the doctors may have had to amputate his hand in order to save his life.

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