Roughriders lose defensive linemen Albright, Dabire to injury

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders suffered a pair of losses during their latest victory.

During last Thursday’s 30-23 triumph over the visiting Toronto Argonauts, defensive linemen Charbel Dabire and Christian Albright both went down with what looked to be serious knee injuries.

When the Riders returned to practice on Tuesday, head coach Corey Mace told reporters both players will be out for an extended period of time with ACL injuries.

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“Those ones were tough ones for us,” said Mace. “They’re both probably looking long term unfortunately.

“So, it’s tough for those guys; tough for the team.”

With Albright and Dabire heading to the six-game injured list, the Riders will need to replace them in the lineup this week when Saskatchewan (4-0) visits the B.C. Lions (4-1) on Saturday night in Vancouver (5 p.m., TSN).

Including the injured duo, the Riders dressed nine defensive linemen last game against Toronto with Micah Johnson, Anthony Lanier II, Malik Carney Bryan Cox Jr., Lake Korte-Moore, Habakkuk Baldonado and Nicholas Dheilly as the others.

That leaves two remaining players in Miles Brown (one-game injured list) and Caleb Sanders (practice roster) to fill the void this week.

Saskatchewan might also consider free agency to add to their depth in the coming days.

“We kind of have some depth at the position and guys who can swing a couple spots for us,” said Mace. “But we’ll always be open (to free agency) if there’s something that jumps out to us to bring in.

“We’re certainly looking at that.”

Flip side

On the other side of the ball, the Riders got good news as left tackle Trevor Reid’s injury isn’t serious.

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Reid went down against the Argos and missed a portion of the game as Logan Ferland filled the void at left tackle with Zack Fry coming in to occupy Ferland’s right guard spot.

Mace called it a “cramping” issue for Reid, who tried to get back into the game, before the cramping persisted.

Reid practised fully on Tuesday and appears to be no worse for wear.

“He was just dealing with some cramping and stuff out there,” said Mace. “It definitely was a breath of fresh air.”

Bane’s back

Receiver Shawn Bane Jr. was also back at practice on Tuesday after missing last week’s game due to personal reasons. Bane posted on his Instagram account that he was mourning the death of his sister.

“Family is forever — I even have that tattooed on me — so yeah, it’s super important and thankfully (the team) allowed me to handle things accordingly,” Bane said after practice Tuesday.

In fact, Mace told Bane to take all the time he needs. However, the receiver insisted on being back.

“As much as we love this game and it gives us so much, family has always been there from the beginning and will continue to be there after football,” said Mace. “That’s the priority.

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“That makes sense for us in this building and we’ll continue to do that for as long as we’re here.”

Injury report

At Tuesday’s practice, Carney (knee) and Cox (back) were limited. Dheilly (shoulder) did not participate.

Defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. (shoulder), linebacker Adam Auclair (shoulder) and running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (head) were also all limited participants while receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby (hand) and offensive lineman Noah Zerr (hand), who are both on the six-game injured list, both practised for the first time this season.

tshire@postmedia.com

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