Injury forces Matt Nichols from practice

CFL.ca Staff

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols exited practice Wednesday with an apparent knee injury, according to multiple reports.

Head Coach Mike O’Shea confirmed the injury, but couldn’t elaborate on the severity as the team waits for Nichols to see a doctor.

“He went down in practice. At some point today he’ll see the doctor and we’ll get good information and make decisions from there,” said O’Shea.

“It’s early,” he added. “You understand my belief in the players. It’s way too early to comment on it.”

The injury happened on what was described as a non-contact play, with Nichols showing visible frustration afterwards, according to Ed Tate of BlueBombers.com.

Matt Nichols was firmly entrenched as the Bombers’ starter going into the season (BlueBombers.com)

Nichols, 31, is firmly entrenched as the Bombers’ starter, coming off a career year in which he threw for 4,472 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led the Bombers to their first home playoff game since 2011, an eventual loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Semi-Final.

The scare comes nearly a month after the sudden and unexpected retirement of backup quarterback Darian Durant. The battle for the backup job behind Nichols appears to be down to rookie Chris Streveler and sophomore Alex Ross.

Despite his inexperience, Streveler has put his talented arm on display throughout camp, validating his first impressions with a standout performance in pre-season, going 10-for-10 with 140 yards and a touchdown.

O’Shea says he refuses to speculate and will assume Nichols will be available — but if not, it’ll be business as usual for the Bombers.

“As far as I know he’s going to be healthy right now,” said O’Shea. “I don’t want to speculate on stuff like that.

“It’s the same thing that goes on any time someone goes down,” he added. “You move the drill and you move the next play, because you’ve got a bunch of guys out here that need practice and need the reps and are getting going. It’s football and these things happen.”

O’Shea added that Nichols was not in the team’s plans for the pre-season finale in Vancouver Friday night.

Streveler and Ross are expected to handle the majority of the work.

More to come…

Follow CFL