Chris Drury never knew what (or who) hit him.
“I thought I ran into my own guy because I knew I didn’t have the puck or wasn’t really near the puck,” said Drury, who skated this morning for the first time since being concussed in Calgary on Nov. 7 by a blindside blow to the head delivered by the Flames’ Curtis Glencross. “I thought I ran into someone on our team.
“It wasn’t until I was talking to the guys and saw it on tape that I knew.”
Drury, who skated on his own for a half-hour before his teammates took the ice, had been cleared on Thursday to begin light workouts. The captain rode the bike yesterday before skating today. He will work on his own the next two days before his next scheduled examination. There is no timetable for his return.
“The first four or five days, it’s following a protocol,” said Drury, who has been symptom-free since Sunday. “I’m just following instructions.
“I can’t project when I’m going to be able to play. It’s just going day by day, seeing how I feel, and listening to the doctors and trainers.”
The Rangers play Monday at the Garden against Columbus before leaving for a three-game trip to Florida, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh that begins against the Panthers on Wednesday and concludes against the Penguins a week from tonight. Drury does not know whether he will make the trip.
Drury was unwilling to express an opinion of the three-game suspension issued Glencross for the blow to the head that has sidelined No. 23 for four games and counting, including tonight’s match at the Garden against the Panthers.
But he was pleased that the league GMs discussed the topic of hits to the head at their meeting the week following his concussion, the third recorded such injury of his NHL career, and first since Feb. 22, 2007, when he was nailed by Ottawa’s Chris Neil. That one — called significantly worse this morning by Drury — kept him out for 12 days.
“I don’t want to get into specifics [regarding the suspension] but I am encouraged by the dialogue at the GM meetings,” Drury said. “It seems like steps are being taken to rid the game of those hits.
“I don’t this has anything to do with how physical our game is. We should have hitting. It’s a very important part of the game that I don’t think should be touched, but blindside hits are different, especially hits to the head.
“I’m glad to see they’re talking about it. It seems like something is going to be done.”
Drury, who did not lose consciousness in Calgary, was wearing a tight-fitting helmet and had his mouth guard in place at the time of the incident.
He said he’s investigating the more protective Mark Messier-designed helmet that Sean Avery wore briefly, but added, “I took a shoulder right to my chin, so I don’t know what difference [a helmet] would make.”
larry.brooks@nypost.com