Pierce not throwing in towel yet

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2010 (5541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — The large, cumbersome brace on his right elbow would suggest otherwise, but quarterback Buck Pierce wouldn’t call his latest set-back a season-ending injury.

“We’re still evaluating things,” Pierce told a gaggle of reporters at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offices this morning. “It is to my throwing arm and it is a pretty severe injury, in the nature that it happened, but this week we’ll continue to evaluate it and go from there.”

Pierce dislocated his elbow in the waning moments of Winnipeg’s 27-23 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Sunday, when he fell to the turf and landed on the helmet of a Riders defender. After a trip to the hospital to put to re-set the joint, doctors found a bone chip from the humerus bone near the elbow, but the 28-year-old said no decision on surgery has been made.

“We don’t know anything about that yet,” Pierce said, when asked about ligament damage. “We’ll know more about that this week.”

The 2010 campaign has been a miserable one for the oft-injured quarterback, who came to the Bombers as a free agent in April. After making it through the first two games unscathed, he suffered a right knee strain in Week 3 and missed three games before returning to the lineup. In his return (an Aug. 13 game against Hamilton), Pierce was pulled from the game after it became obvious he wasn’t ready to play. He was shelved for another game, before making a return against the Riders.

Pierce, who joked he was shooting for a return in the Grey Cup this season, called his latest career set-back discouraging.

“It’s very discouraging but you have to take it for what it is and continue to stay positive – and that’s what I’m going to do,” Pierce said. “It was a fluke thing and very unfortunate that it happened. As a competitor and as a guy who cares so much about this organization, and who has come into this season with high expectations, it’s very hard.”

The Bombers (2-7) are back at practice today, with Steven Jyles leading the team under quarterback. Winnipeg takes on the Riders in the sold-out Banjo Bowl at Canad Inns Stadium Sunday (noon start).

We were live at the Bomber press conference where Buck Pierce addressed his elbow injury. Watch the replay below.