Kicker Castillo back in action after fast rebound from surgery

When Sergio Castillo tore the ACL in his right knee last October while kicking for the Hamilton TigerCats, it looked like not only would he lose the remainder of the 2017 season, but a good chunk of 2018 might also be gone.

But six months after surgery, way ahead of schedule, Castillo, 27, is one of three kickers at the Redblacks mini-camp — battling for a job with former B.C. Lion Richie Leone and Canadian Lewis Ward.

“I’m 100 per cent, I’m as good as I can be,” said Castillo. “I feel like I’m cheating, I feel stronger. I’m way ahead of schedule. I was being told I’d be out eight or nine months. But I talked to my doctor, he said, ‘Serge, I’ve done hundreds of surgeries, you’ll be back in six months.’”

Castillo started kicking in late February — about 4 1/2 months into his recovery process. But convincing his leg to swing back and boot a football wasn’t easy.

“They had given me the go ahead, but I had delayed it a week,” said Castillo. “It took me a week to overcome it mentally.”

Castillo played two games with the Redblacks in 2016. In Hamilton, he was good on 29-of-34 field goals and averaged 45.1 yards per punt before getting injured.

With the departure of Brett Maher to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys this month, the Redblacks would like to find somebody who can handle all three kicking duties — field goals, kickoffs and punts.

“I learned to roll with the punches, whether it’s good or bad,” said Castillo. “You decide if you want to take it the positive way or negative way. Six months since I had surgery, I’m in Ottawa. I’m so grateful to put on the cleats, to step on the field. It’s not like I took it for granted, but I appreciate little things like being able to kick a ball and watch it go through the uprights — it’s so beautiful.”