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Team Epping’s Patrick Janssen out with injury after fall on ice

Team Epping second Patrick Janssen is out of the lineup with a cheekbone injury after falling face-first onto the ice.

The Toronto-based team, ranked fifth on the World Curling Tour, was conducting a curling clinic last weekend at the Unionville Curling Club. Janssen was demonstrating how to sweep when the accident occurred.

Janssen was scheduled for surgery Saturday and the team expects him to be out for a few weeks.

“Fortunately we were teaching a clinic on the weekend, unfortunately Pat was trying to demonstrate sweeping and he was kind of looking up and showing how to sweep and the broom went out from under him,” skip John Epping said. “He did a full face-plant right onto the ice and he couldn’t catch himself. He has a fractured zygoma and he’s going in for surgery [Saturday] to have it repaired. He’s hoping a quick recovery and to be back within a few weeks.”

The team of Epping, third Mat Camm and lead Tim March have called upon Scott Hodgson from Mike Harris’s squad to help fill in this weekend at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard at High Park Club.

Epping, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is hoping Janssen will return to the lineup in time for the WFG Masters, the first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, taking place Oct. 25-30 in Okotoks, Alta.

“Especially with the Slam coming up in Okotoks, we’re hoping he’ll back by then, but he’ll take whatever time he needs to make sure that he’s ready and gets that healed up,” Epping said. “Just kind of a freak accident, an unfortunate accident, and it can happen to anybody. It was pretty scary when it happened but luckily there was a nurse actually taking the curling clinic, which was really helpful, and the hospital that he went to, Markham Stouffville, they’ve been fantastic and have taken good care of him.”

Epping works as a medical sales consultant and his area of expertise came in handy in talking his teammate through what to expect for surgery.

“I kind of have an idea of what’s going on. I’ve actually been in the surgery he’s having, I’ve actually seen it,” Epping said. “Maybe a little bit reassuring of him that I could talk to him about it. … A very straight-forward procedure that’s been done a million times. He’ll be in good hands but it’s still pretty scary when something like that happens.”

Janssen captured his first career Grand Slam title last season at the Meridian Canadian Open.