Injury bug bites Roughriders again

The injuries are once again coming in bunches for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Slotback Duke Williams, defensive end A.C. Leonard and centre Dan Clark all left Tuesday’s practice early. Slotback Kyran Moore was injured in Saskatchewan’s 19-14 CFL victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

According to Riders head coach Craig Dickenson, Williams has been dealing with a hamstring issue and elected to leave practice early instead of risking a further injury and Clark suffered a rolled ankle. Dickenson wasn’t sure why Leonard left practice early, but the team’s injury report later said it was a back injury.

The Roughriders play the host Edmonton Elks on Friday.

Williams has only been with the team for two games since returning to the CFL after a two-season stint in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.

Leonard has been one of the CFL’s top pass rushers in 2021, recording seven sacks in eight games.

Clark has been a mainstay on the offensive line for the Riders and was the only returning starter from 2019 to play a regular-season game in 2021. He was a first-time CFL all-star in 2019.

“We’re hopeful he’s going to be all right,” Dickenson said about Clark. “Dan was in a car accident (in May of 2019) where he was thrown through a window and he didn’t miss a game. I will be very surprised if he (misses a game).”

Dickenson said there still wasn’t an update on the status of Moore, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the second quarter of the game.

“We still are worried about his knee so he’s getting it looked at,” Dickenson said. “We should know more about it (Wednesday).”

Slotback Ricardo Louis was running with the starters in Moore’s absence. Louis has appeared in six games for Saskatchewan this season, recording 14 catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

Moore has been a model of consistency for the Riders this year as the receivers room has dealt with new faces and injuries all season long. Moore has caught 64 passes in 2021; that’s 30 more than running back William Powell and slotback Kian Schaffer-Baker, who are tied for second on the team.

“It’s huge,” slotback Brayden Lenius said about the loss of Moore. “That was our No. 1 target guy, one of our biggest playmakers this year and it hurts everywhere.

“We’re going to rally behind him and we’re going to have dudes in this room that are going to step up and be in that role. It is a tough loss, but the thing about football is we have to keep going and win these games for Swerve.”

When injuries have come for the Riders, they have happened in bunches. Prior to the season, four players — linebacker Larry Dean, safety Nelson Lokombo, defensive end Freddie Bishop and running back Jonathan Femi-Cole — all suffered season-ending Achilles tears.

“We haven’t had very good luck with injuries this year. We will have to look at how we practise and why it is happening. But I have done quite a bit of work on that and gone to a lot of different coaches and I think we take really good care of our players,” Dickenson said. “I think it’s a lot of bad luck.”

Notes: Leonard was named a CFL top performer after his showing against the Alouettes. He recorded a sack, two tackles for loss and eight tackles in the win.