The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won't have their starting quarterback for the CFL playoff opener.
Zach Collaros, a two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player award winner, has been ruled out for Friday's East semifinal against the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field because of a rib injury.
Veteran Dru Brown will start for Winnipeg.
Collaros was hurt in the second half of last week's playoff-clinching win against the B.C. Lions.
Brown took over and led the Bombers to 31 unanswered points to earn a 34-10 victory. He went 11-for-11 passing for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Collaros missed the first two practices of the week and was a limited participant on Thursday.
The 38-year-old missed six games this season, losing four games with an injured neck and two with a separate head injury.
Brown went 2-4 as a starter this year after being reacquired by the Blue Bombers in a trade with the Ottawa Redblacks. He started both games against Toronto this season, going 1-1.
Brown lost his starting job in Ottawa at the start of the year as new Redblacks coach Ryan Dinwiddie opted to go with Jake Maier.
Brown started for the Redblacks in the last playoff game in Toronto, a 58-38 Argonauts win under then-coach Dinwiddie in the 2024 CFL East semifinal.
--with files from The Canadian Press
