Michel Zeiter, the Zurich Lions hockey player who was seriously injured during his team's win against Chur on Thursday, seems to be out of danger.

In a freak accident, a wayward skate cut the forward's throat. The 27-year-old suffered a fractured larynx and injuries to his windpipe, and muscle tissue and blood vessels were severed.

The jugular vein was fortunately not damaged during the accident. The incident occurred when Chur's Johan Witehall was knocked over by a Zurich defender and one of his skates hit Zeiter.

After first aid was carried out on the spot, the player was rushed to the local university hospital because of heavy blood loss. Medical staff there operated on him for a number of hours.

The doctors have decided to keep Zeiter in an artificial coma for the next few days to help the healing process. They are confident the Lions' captain will fully recover.

Zeiter had been a regular member of the national side until recently. Coach Ralph Krueger did not retain the forward for the team's latest matches and his chances of going to the next winter Olympics in Salt Lake City had looked slim before his accident.

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