Head injury keeps Cornish out of action
John Hufnagel reported the good news first, and then followed up with the bad news.
Jon Cornish, the Calgary Stampeders star running back, felt a bit better Wednesday after going through a morning workout.
But Hufnagel said the chances of Cornish playing Saturday against the Toronto Argonauts are “slim to none.”
Obviously, the Stamps are being cautious with the reigning CFL most outstanding player, which is understandable. They’re treating this head injury, suffered in the season opener on a clothesline by Montreal’s Kyries Hebert, by the book and won’t deviate because of how important Cornish is to the team.
For other Stamps players who have gone through a concussion and returned to the field, the extra caution displayed by the team is reassuring.
Receiver Brad Sinopoli suffered a concussion last season, and he came back under the CFL’s concussion protocol. As much as Sinopoli and his teammates want Cornish back on the field as soon as possible, they realize the best thing to do is take extra time and be 100 per cent sure.
“You can’t rush it,” said Sinopoli, who missed one game after suffering a concussion last in the season against the Edmonton Eskimos. “Even though you want to play, because no one likes missing games, you don’t want to make yourself worse. Then you will be missing more time. It’s a tough thing to juggle.”
You can’t rush it. Even though you want to play, you don’t want to make yourself worse
BRAD SINOPOLI
The Stamps showed caution before the 2014 season opener with a different player. Offensive lineman Dan Federkeil, who retired from the NFL in 2009 due to concussions, was shut down when he experienced a headache that was deemed a jammed neck/head, even though the lastminute change forced some roster juggling.
Some are surprised that Cornish is experiencing symptoms 11 days after the hit because in the aftermath of the win over the Als, Cornish appeared to be OK.
“Those might be the worst ones, where you think you are fine right after the hit and then it hits you a few days later,” Sinopoli said.
“He needs to make sure he recovers. If you think you are doing OK, then you start doing some workouts and start pushing the envelope. In the end, you can make it worse.”
Matt Walter is set to start in Cornish’s place on Saturday.
EXTRA POINTS ... Stamps receiver Nik Lewis walked off the field with a trainer at the end of practice on Wednesday but head coach John Hufnagel didn’t know what the problem was with the slotback ... The Stamps and linebacker Alvin Bowen announced a partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary to host eight children at every home game in 2014.