Curler Brad Gushue leaves game after a serious fall, head injury

Once in a while at curling clubs everywhere, you will see someone take a nasty fall.

You see it occasionally at the pro level, too, but rarely do you see anything as scary as the fall 2006 Olympic Champion skip Brad Gushue took during the fourth end of quarter-final action at The Masters, on Saturday.

As a rock was coming into the house, during Gushue's game against Steve Laycock, Gushue tried to get out of the way of the stones in the house. He slipped and fell face first, hard, to the ice.

Suffering a cut to his head, Gushue was tended to on the ice and then taken to hospital to receive a few stitches. His availability for the rest for the weekend is in question, should his teammates advance to the semi's or beyond.

With the nature of the fall, you would expect Gushue will be tested for concussion symptoms.

In his absence, teammates Mark Nichols, Geoff Walker and Brett Gallant continued against Laycock as a threesome.

UPDATE: 

Gushue made it back to the arena after his trip to hospital, striding back to his place in the house to a thundering ovation, during the seventh end. "Pride's hurt more than anything," he said after Layckock asked how he was. Looking, as you'd expect, bruised and a little beleaguered, Gushue was still wearing his hospital identification bracelet as he set the broom. Gushue can rest for the weekend, his team ended up losing to Laycock, 5-2.

Memo to the hockey community: Here's a guy you could call your kind of curler. Somebody send the tape to Grapes, Gushue deserves a mention on Coach's Corner.