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Riders head coach Corey Mace broke the news — and it wasn’t good news — to an assembly of fans during the State of the Nation panel discussion Saturday afternoon at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
While McEwen got injured during one-on-one drills earlier in the week during Roughriders training camp at Griffiths Stadium, there hadn’t been an update, as to just how serious the injury was, until fans heard it first-hand that it’s serious enough to keep the three-time CFL all-star out of the line-up longer term.
McEwen, a 6-foot-1, 295-pound offensive lineman from Calgary, was a prized free-agent acquisition during the off-season. He had played 132 regular-season CFL games with the Toronto Argonauts and Calgary Stampeders before joining the Riders.
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“With Sean,” Mace told fans huddled up in the hall, “unfortunately Sean suffered an injury that’s going to keep him out for a while, guys. You guys are going to be the first to get that information here right now. And it sucks. It sucks for him more than anything.”
McEwen, a former first-round pick in the 2015 CFL Draft, was pencilled in to be the Riders’ new centre on the offensive line.
McEwen came in as a three-time all-CFL selection, a three-time West Division all-star and one-time East Division all-star.
On Saturday, he appeared on the sidelines during the Green and White Day scrimmage with a brace on his leg.
Even if McEwen won’t be seeing any game action any time soon, the Riders want to keep him involved.
“You feel for Sean, but he made it very clear that he wants to get his finger sized (for a Grey Cup ring),” noted Mace. “So he’s going to do everything he can to help us still. He’ll remain with us in some form, or fashion, and he’s a heck of a mind. In talking with him, he said, ‘I know I’ve only been here for this amount of days but there’s something different here.’ It’s good to hear that validation from somebody coming from the outside in. Just an unfortunate situation and unfortunate part of football.”
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In McEwen’s place, Zack Fry has been taking starting reps at centre with fellow Canadian national offensive lineman Logan Ferland at left guard and American import Jacob Brammer at right guard.
The Riders will open their preseason next Saturday, May 24 when they visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Training camp continues Monday through Friday at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
dzary@postmedia.com
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