The Edmonton Eskimos lost more than the Labour Day Classic on Monday to the Calgary Stampeders, they have also lost one of their best receivers.
On Wednesday, the Eskimos said Derel Walker won’t play in the Labour Day rematch on Saturday because of a suspected left-knee injury sustained in the Eskimos 23-20 loss on Labour Day.
The team issued a press release on Thursday, confirming the receiver would be out for 6-8 weeks.
The silver lining is the injury doesn’t appear to be season-ending. Head coach Jason Maas said he’s hopeful Walker will be back before the end of the season.
“You know it was unfortunate with what happened to him but I think at the same time it’s fortunate because it could have been a lot worse,” Maas said.
“I’ll get more word on what time frame we will get him back, I don’t know. I think that has a lot to do with the athlete and what he does with treatments. He’s never been hurt in his life so it’s a new experience for him but I know Derel enough to know he’ll work his butt off to get back.”
Listen below: Head coach Jason Maas says mental mistakes factored into the loss on Labour Day more than half-time adjustments
Walker is second on the Eskimos and fourth in the CFL in receiving with 875 yards. His eight touchdowns tie him with teammate Duke Williams for the CFL lead.
Quarterback Mike Reilly said losing Walker is tough, however, the team has a lot of depth with Bryant Mitchell who is expected to draw back into the lineup on Saturday.
“Tough to lose that guy. I don’t care what team that he would be playing on, it would be hard to lose him,” Reilly said.
“We’ve had a lot of good depth at the wide receiver position here for a number of years. You have a guy like Bryant Mitchell who has been waiting and got one game to play and played really well in it and had to take a seat and wait for the next opportunity and the next opportunity is here. We certainly want Derel to get healthy as he can and get back as quickly as he can because he’s going to make our team better no matter who’s out there in his position.”
Listen below: Quarterback Mike Reilly on why the offence is sputtering in the second half of games
Mitchell last played on Aug. 18 and recorded seven catches for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Montreal Alouettes.
Kick-off Saturday for the Labour Day rematch on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium is at 5 p.m. 630 CHED will have Countdown to Kick-off starting at 3 p.m.
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