PHILADELPHIA -- One more foot-pound of pressure, doctors told Erik Cole, and the fractured vertebra he suffered could have had far more disastrous consequences.

"It's tough to hear I was lucky," Cole said. "You don't feel very lucky in a hospital bed with a broken neck."

As it is, the Carolina Hurricanes forward is likely out for the rest of the season after Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik hit him from behind Saturday, sending Cole face-first into the boards. Orpik was suspended for three games by the NHL.

"To see the hit and see him only get a three-game suspension makes it hurt worse," Cole said.

In his first comments since the hit, Cole described in a telephone conversation from his Morrisville home today how his life has changed since he hit the boards that night in Pittsburgh. He will wear a neck brace for at least the next six weeks until the fracture is healed and wakes up every morning stiff and sore -- not only from the broken bone in his neck but the trauma sustained by his entire upper body.

"It's obviously kind of a tough situation," Cole said. "It's painful. It's not the worst-case scenario, but also it's pretty miserable to be injured and not be able to play. Throw that on with wondering just how am I going to recover and what a long process it's going to be just to get the break healed."

Cole suffered a compression fracture to the C-5 vertebra in his neck. In February, New York Islanders forward Kevin Colley suffered a similar injury to the same vertebra and was forced to retire at age 27. Also 27, Cole said he has been given no indication from doctors that his career is in danger -- only that the recovery process will be long and painstaking.

The time frame of 6-8 weeks is solely for the broken bone to heal, and only then can he begin physical therapy.

"There hasn't been anything mentioned that they think this is going to affect my career in any way," Cole said. "No one has said, ‘Hopefully, we'll be able to keep you playing.' There hasn't been any talk like that. From what I understand it's a situation where you let it heal up first and make sure we avoid any surgery. …

"I want to be able to play again, not this just year but in the future, so I have to be cautious. I can't rush back now and have something horrible happen."

Cole said he has not been contacted by Orpik, but asked if he thought the hit was delivered with intent to injure, Cole replied, "No, absolutely not." He has watched the video a number of times, he said, and remembers everything before, during and after the hit.

"You couldn't say he was trying to break my neck," Cole said. "You could say it was a bad move on his part not to let up, to finish the hit the way he did. Unfortunately the consequences from the league really are not that bad. Three games for him are like a holiday, three games without going out there and getting his lunch handed to him by the other teams in the league. Sounds like a pretty good tradeoff to me."