Not even the passing rainfall could wipe out the renewed optimism for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as they returned to the practice on Tuesday.
Cody Fajardo was back at practice working with the first team offence and preparing himself as he will be playing when the Riders host the BC Lions in a divisional matchup.
The Riders starting quarterback said his absence from last week’s game was due to his bout with COVID and not because of his knee injury. Fajardo added that he didn’t clear COVID protocol until Sunday.
“The coaches looked after me, didn’t want me to go out there with no practice, I lost some weight, it kicked my butt for 48 hours, it was really tough on me, had just about every symptom you could think of, broke my fever in my sleep, just coughing, headaches, achiness, chills.”
Even though he didn’t list his knee as being the reason for missing last week’s game, Fajardo said it was a blessing in disguise to give the injury some time to heal.
“It’s really helped me get my feet back underneath me, rest some things, not only my knee, but other problems that I had kind of lingering.”
Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson is feeling confident at this point that he will have his number one quarterback back in the lineup and said Fajardo looked good in his first day back on the field.
“He was in rhythm, it was good to see him back out there, I thought today’s practice was, even though it was short, it was productive, you got a chance to see get some rhythm with his receivers.”
Fajardo revealed after practice that he has been dealing with ligament damage to his knee. Dickenson later added that his QB is dealing with something with his MCL. Fajardo says that he will do everything to possible to make sure he’s playing this week.
“A lot of people are saying that they are praying for my knee and stuff but that wasn’t what held me back, I felt like throughout the week my knee progressed as it has from week to week.”
While Dickenson said he is expecting Fajardo to get the start on Friday, he says he will consult with the medical personnel leading up to the game.
“If the knee is giving him (Fajardo) problems and he doesn’t feel like he could move like he needs to, we will give him the week, but we’re trying to win the game too, so we’ll play our best guys, if Cody needs to rest and it’s beneficial for us to do that, we’ll do that.”
Along with Fajardo, Dickenson says they are hoping to get additional bodies back in the lineup.
“It’s good to see a few guys out there that we didn’t have last week, hopefully we can put a little better team on the field this week, that’s what our goal is.”
The Riders Head Coach noted the team is still dealing with COVID within the team but added there is only a few members who are currently dealing with the illness.
For only the second time in the 2022 season the Riders will be meeting a divisional opponent when they host the Lions. Dickenson is looking forward to facing a western opponent.
“That’s a good team, BC’s well coached, they’ve won some games this year and they’ve got a good team top to bottom. ”
The Riders, BC and Calgary are tied in second spot in the CFL’s Western Division, but both the Lions and Stamps have two games in hand.
You can catch Friday’s game on 620 CKRM with an opening kickoff at 7:00.
