Sears placed on Bombers’ injured list

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 2:19 PM CDT Monday, Jun. 27, 2011

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be without the services of defensive back and kick coverage specialist Johnny Sears for “at least the next five to six weeks,” Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said this afternoon.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/06/2011 (5250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Bombers placed Sears on the nine-game injured reserve list over the weekend, but LaPolice’s comments on Monday were the first detailed assessment of Sears’ condition that the club has made public.

Sears suffered a high ankle sprain in the final minute of the fourth quarter last Thursday night against the Toronto Argonauts, injuring himself on the 73-yard touchdown run by Argos running back Chad Kackert that won the game for Toronto.

Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press archives
Montreal Alouettes slotback S.J. Green is tackled by Winnipeg Blue defensive back Johnny Sears Bombers during a pre-season game earlier this month in Montreal. — Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press archives Montreal Alouettes slotback S.J. Green is tackled by Winnipeg Blue defensive back Johnny Sears Bombers during a pre-season game earlier this month in Montreal.

Sears had shown himself during training camp to be an extraordinary kick coverage specialist and the loss of his services — as well as those of LB Clint Kent (ankle) and LB Henoc Muamba (knee), two other key elements of the Bombers special teams who are nursing less serious injuries — prompted the Bombers over the weekend to track down free agent Canadian safety Jason Nugent.

Nugent — a Rutgers product — previously played for the Bombers during the 2007-08 seasons and is considered a special teams specialist.

He was on the field at Canad Inns Stadium today as the Bombers staged their first practice since setting their 46-man roster on Saturday. The Bombers open the regular season this Friday in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats.

Nugent will start the season on the Bombers practice roster, which the Bombers also released Monday morning. Joining Nugent on the practice roster are: non-import offensive lineman Brendan Dunn; import running back Alex Henderson; import defensive lineman Kenny Mainor; import defensive lineman Bryant Turner; import defensive back Arrington Hicks; and import quarterback Brandon Summers.

Summers also joined the Bombers on the field for the first time today. A 25-year-old out of Youngstown State, the 6-foot, 212-pound Summers set a single-season school record in 2009 with a 64 percent completion percentage (219-341).