Suspected leg injury puts off Simon’s debut

REGINA — The suspense has ended regarding the status of veteran slotback Geroy Simon.

Head coach Corey Chamblin ended it when he revealed Thursday that Simon won’t play when the Saskatchewan Roughriders open the regular season Saturday against the Eskimos. Simon’s status has been the subject of a great deal of debate since he left in the second quarter of a 24-23 pre-season loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders on June 20 with a suspected leg injury.

On Thursday, Simon took part in conditioning drills and ran some stairs at Mosaic Stadium before retreating to the Riders’ locker-room. Chamblin later announced that the 14-year CFL veteran wouldn’t make his Riders regular-season debut Saturday.

“We have expectations for Geroy while he’s here, but he hasn’t been in the lineup,” Chamblin said. “It’s not a really big blow because we have enough receivers that we’re able to move on. We hope that he’s able to play soon, but he’s not.”

Import Greg Carr has worked primarily with the first-team offence while Simon dealt with what is believed to be a hamstring injury. First-year CFLer Eron Riley may also be part of the mix now that Simon is sidelined.

The Riders acquired the 37-year-old Simon from the B.C. Lions during the off-season for receiver Justin Harper (who has since been released) and a third-round selection in the 2014 CFL draft.

Simon, the CFL’s all-time leading receiver with 15,787 yards, is still contributing in other ways. Chamblin feels Simon can still be a leader while on the sidelines.