Bombers a bit banged-up in prep for Stamps

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This article was published 20/09/2016 (3302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It appears Andrew Harris will be a game-time decision again this week.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers starting tailback missed the club’s first practice of the week on Tuesday ahead of the club’s meeting with the 10-1-1 Stampeders on Saturday in Calgary.

Harris was sidelined all of last week with a lower-body ailment suffered during the Bombers’ 17-10 Banjo Bowl victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Head coach Mike O’Shea’s rhetoric on Harris remained steadfast on Tuesday. Simply put, the veteran rusher doesn’t need to practice to play.

“At this point in the season, with our offence and his understanding of it, we’d still feel comfortable putting him in without practice,” O’Shea said. “Ideally, you’d like to see him run around but we’re not going to push him. We feel comfortable if he says he’s available.”

Timothy Flanders would once again assume the reins at running back if Harris is no-go against the Stamps. The Sam Houston State alum rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown in his first CFL start in last Saturday’s 46-29 win over the Toronto Argonauts.

Others on the day-to-day injured list include regulars Weston Dressler, Khalil Bass, Euclid Cummings and Justin Cole — all of them missed Tuesday’s practice.

O’Shea was less forthcoming about the status of receiver/returner Quincy McDuffie, who exited Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury, filing him under hopeful.

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McDuffie sparked life in the Bombers with a second-quarter 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The speedster had 169 kickoff return yards in the game and added four catches for 23 yards on offence before being forced to leave.

Meanwhile, receiver Gerrard Sheppard is “more than a week or two” away with a lower-body injury sustained in Saturday’s game.

Sheppard’s right knee appeared to hyperextend on a second-quarter reception and the 25-year-old was sporting a large leg brace under his blue sweat pants on Monday afternoon.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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