Saskatchewan Roughriders’ general manager Jeremy O’Day revealed that franchise quarterback Trevor Harris is at home recovering after undergoing surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture including the lateral meniscus.
“We’re excited that the surgery went well by all accounts and he’s on the road to recovery,” O’Day told the media in Regina. “You hope for minimal damage when you go in to repair it. I’m not a doctor, but it went well.”
The Riders haven’t ruled Harris out for the rest of the season, though it appears unlikely that he will return this year. The veteran quarterback has managed to stay relatively healthy over the course of his decade-long CFL career with this being his first potentially season-ending injury. O’Day indicated that Harris is enthusiastic about the recovery process, though he expects it will be mentally taxing for the franchise quarterback.
“It’s definitely gonna be a long-term (injury). It wasn’t a situation (where) after talking to the medical staff, they wanted to rule them out for the entire season, but it’s going to be long-term. He’ll be pretty much non-weight-bearing for about six weeks and that will be the longest period of time. From there, he’ll start to work on his rehab,” said O’Day.
“He’s already anxious to come back and help the guys in the meeting rooms and stuff. We’re trying to get him to just to sit tight at home and spend some time with his family and let his leg heal up a little bit. Injuries aren’t so much the physical part, it’s usually the mental part that the athletes go through. They’re used to having pain and going through training and recovery and stuff like that, but it’s the mental part that will be tough for him.”
Mason Fine will be the team’s new starting quarterback and management expects him to play well now that he’s in his third season with the team. The former North Texas standout played well after Harris left last week’s loss to the Calgary Stampeders, completing six-of-eight pass attempts for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s fiery and he’s not afraid of any situations. The game’s not too big for him, he’s cool as a cucumber when he’s put in these situations. I was actually standing on the sideline when Trevor went down and I wasn’t sure that Mason even had a pulse. Even after a couple of big drives there and the big play, he’s very calm and collected. I think he’s a very confident player,” said O’Day.
“It’s not all going to be on on Mason Fine. It’s on everyone on the team, it’s a team game and Mason has his part to play in that just like Trevor did and guys will rally. They care about Mason, they care about Trevor. It’s part of sports, guys get hurt and the next guy steps up and we expect him to do a great job for us.”
O’Day indicated that the team doesn’t plan on bringing in another quarterback as the club will promote Jake Dolegala from the practice roster. It remains unclear whether Dolegala or Shea Patterson will be the primary backup behind Fine.
The Riders (3-2) are set to visit the B.C. Lions (4-1) on Saturday, July 22 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
