Riders Unsure of Extent of Bagg's Injury

The Saskatchewan Roughriders returned to the field on Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium, but receiver Rob Bagg wasn't with them after he injured his knee on Saturday.

Bagg came out for the start of practice, participated in the team stretch, but left a short bit into the workout and didn't return.  The extent of Bagg's injury however is still unknown as the team is continuing to run tests and head coach Corey Chamblin didn't have much more information after practice.

“The doctor and Ivan (Gutfriend, director of athletic therapy), and all those guys, are still access him to see what the extend of the injury,” Chamblin told the media gathering after practice.

“I just know it is his knee, but I can't tell you (something exact), there's too many other ligaments and things in there, but I think we'll have an answer surely by (Wednesday).”

One thing Chamblin did know is that Bagg won't be in the line-up when the Riders take on the Edmonton Eskimos this Saturday.  “It will be too far along in the week,” he said.  “Like anything else we get hurt, we at least want to get them in practice for at least a week.”

With Bagg ruled out, the search for his replacement started on Tuesday with the Riders using Kierre Johnson and Scott McHenry at the wide receiver spot during practice.  Chamblin said they will be exploring all their options over the next three days to see what works best.

“It's not a try-out, but it's just the next up,” he said.  “They all have that ability and it's just the next guy in ready to replace whoever is missing.”

The problem is right now that both Johnson and McHenry are on the nine-game injured list, while another possible fill-in, Jordan Sisco, is also hurt.  “At this point, there's a couple of other guys that fill that void also,” Chamblin explained.  “It will probably go down to the next couple of days to see exactly how we're going to fill this roster out.”

A video posted by Kory Sheets of Bagg running stairs on Monday morning got many hopes in Rider Nation, but Chamblin added you can't read too much into that because of Bagg's high pain tolerance.

“Last year when he did have a tear he was till running,” he said.  “Rob is such an unique individual when it comes to pain tolerance and also pushing your body to the limit, so you can't read anything into that.

“I think the biggest thing is there's a lot of hope going around.  Even with him running (Monday), it builds the hope up, but until we get an actual definitive answer from the doctors, I can't tell you exactly what it is.”

Bagg's teammates are hoping for the best.

Darian Durant compared the receiver to “Wolverine” from the X-Men comic books due to his ability to fight through pain and heal quickly.  “Once you think he's down, he just comes back and proves you wrong,” he said.  “The guy was out here running stadium steps fresh off of what everyone thought to be not only season-ending, but career-ending, so he's a tough, tough guy.”

Durant added that Bagg will serve as motivation for the team going forward.  “It lets guys see his work ethic and makes guys want to take their work ethic to the next level,” he said.  “It definitely trickles down.”

Riders News & Notes...

-- The Riders went back to work on fundamentals throughout practice with players focusing on ball control drills and the defence on stripping and proper tackling techniques.  Durant said that's something that was needed after the Montreal game.

“We just need to execute better,” he said.  “If we can make sure that we're fundamentally sound and that's what today was, just getting back to the basics and making sure that we're doing what we've been doing since day one.”

-- Linebacker Sam Hurl was also absent from practice on Tuesday after he was scratched from last Saturday's game.  There was no word on his condition, as much of the focus after practice was on Bagg.

-- Chamblin said that returner Jock Sanders remains on the roster and in the mix at that spot, but he didn't rule out trying other players this week.  Sanders was returning punts and kickoffs as usual on Tuesday.

-- The Riders are back on the practice field on Wednesday and Thursday at Mosaic Stadium before leaving for Edmonton.  They will have a walkthrough at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday and then take on the Eskimos on Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm.