The Saskatchewan Roughriders are feeling the effects of a physical home and home set with the Montreal Alouettes.
Among those who were sidelined for practice on Tuesday was Kicker Brett Lauther. Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson says it’s possible that Lauther may have a broken hand after a special teams play in the final quarter of Saturday’s game. Dickenson is confident that the kicker will be good to go for Friday’s matchup against Ottawa. If Lauther is unable to go, Henry Nall will be the team’s kicker. The Riders Head Coach says he has confidence Nell will be able to fill the void if he is needed.
Duke Williams also sat out of practice on Tuesday. The Riders are hoping the wide receiver will be able to get back on the field on Wednesday. Dickenson said Williams is currently battling a hip injury.
Cornerback Nick Marshall didn’t practice as well with a knee injury.
Heading into Friday’s showdown with Ottawa, Dickenson is expecting all three to get be in the Riders lineup.
Monday was an off-day for the Riders after the win, the Head Coach says he will try and give the players as much time to recuperate as he can throughout the season.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo was practicing on Tuesday, with a knee brace on. Fajardo is thankful for the brace being able to keep him in action as opposed to sitting on the sidelines. “It’s just one of those things that prevent from something catastrophic but this is one of those injuries that time can only heal it and I’m looking forward to hitting that bye week and getting a 100 percent healthy.”
Saskatchewan will be playing at Mosaic Stadium for the second straight week which is something the Riders QB thinks will help the recovery time for the green and white. “They nice thing is we don’t have to go anywhere, usually when you get on a plane, inflammation gets a little bit worse but knowing that we will be in our own stadium is definitely helpful for a guy like me playing not at a 100 percent. ”
Finding the perfect balance between rest and game planning is a challenge with no on field practice on Monday, but Fajardo felt the team responded with a lot of positive work to kick off the week.
Looking ahead to Friday’s game against the Redblacks, the Nevada product believes the record doesn’t exactly show how good of a team Ottawa really is. “They played the defending back to back Grey Cup champs twice, they played arguably the hottest team in the CFL, the BC Lions once so they played some good football teams and played them tough we really got to bring it on Friday because it’s going to be a tough game for us.”
The Riders will meet the Redblacks on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. You can listen to the game on 620 CKRM with Michael Ball, opening kickoff is 7:30.
