Bear’s heir gets right in there

MONTREAL — The guy everyone expected to be the heir apparent to Bear Woods is finally getting the opportunity this week to play middle-linebacker for the Alouettes.

That Anthony Sarao is replacing Dominique Tovell, and not Woods, hasn’t been lost on him. Sarao was the player management raved about through the early stages of training camp, before they ultimately decided to go with the bigger Tovell.

But Tovell, who scored the Als’ only touchdown last Saturday at Toronto on a 61-yard interception, is recovering from a concussion, not the knee injury head coach Jacques Chapdelaine had stated a day earlier. That means Sarao will make his Canadian Football League regular-season debut, in Montreal’s ninth game of the season, Thursday night at Molson Stadium against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

If pro sports are all about timing and opportunity, that nugget hasn’t been lost on Sarao, who realizes the door has been left ajar, perhaps only slightly, and understands he must do his best to produce and seize the moment.

“Opportunity’s the key word. That’s been my life,” Sarao said following Tuesday’s practice at Olympic Stadium. “Nothing was handed to me and I never asked for handouts. It was work, and when your opportunity comes, you can’t let it go.”

Sarao, 5-foot-11 and 233 pounds, has spent the majority of his time on the Als’ practice roster.