July 8, 2021

Four Riders, including Dean, suffer Achilles injuries ahead of camp

Jason Halstead/CFL.ca

REGINA — Just days before training camp was officially set to begin, a devastating injury bug has hit the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day confirmed to reporters on Thursday that four players have suffered Achilles injuries. O’Day believes they are all long term injuries.

According to reports, O’Day also mentioned that the injuries were not during competitive drills and happened over a short period of time.

The four players that suffered the injuries are defensive back Nelson Lokombo, running back Jonathan Femi-Cole, defensive lineman Freddie Bishop and, most notably, linebacker Larry Dean.

Dean signed with the Riders this off-season as a free agent and was expected to be a major part of the team’s defence at middle linebacker. He has spent four seasons in the CFL, having stints with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Elks. Since coming into the league, he’s helped to anchor the defensive units for both organizations from the MIKE linebacker spot.

Lokombo was the Riders first round (second overall) draft pick this year while Femi-Cole was a sixth round pick in 2020. Bishop spent the 2019 season with the Toronto Argonauts where he played in 18 games and tallied 40 defensive tackles and six sacks.

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