By Perry Lefko, Sportsnet.ca
The Saskatchewan Roughriders, who have been battling injuries, may have lost their primary receiver for Sunday’s Western Final against the B.C. Lions.
D.J. Flick suffered a knee injury in practice on Friday. He flew with the team to Vancouver and will be on the team’s 46-man roster. The decision whether he will play will be determined one hour before kickoff when teams have to declare their 42-man active rosters.
“It’s not bad, but we don’t know if he’ll play or not,” Roughriders’ general manager Eric Tillman told Sportsnet.ca.
Flick placed 11th overall in the regular season with 1,020 yards from a team-leading 70 catches and tied for the league-lead with 10 touchdowns.
Flick had four catches for 108 yards in the West Semi-Final, scoring a touchdown with a 62-yard catch-and-run on the opening series.
The Roughriders may have running back Wes Cates back in the lineup. Cates has not played in four weeks with a hairline fracture in his left foot.
Fullback Chris Szarka may also be ready to return to the lineup. Szarka has not played in a month after severing the tips of two fingers in a table saw accident.
“D.J. is a great competitor, so too are Chris Szarka and Wes Cates,” Tillman said. “All three really, really want to play. That said, we will make final decisions on Sunday, and they won’t be based on emotions. In truth, we simply do not know two days out. Any of the three could play or none of them. In one case, it’s an injury decision; in the other two, it will be a combination of factors, including pain management.”
