It was another soggy and cold practice on Thursday. But for Lucky Whitehead and his Lion teammates, it may as well have been Canada Day. The BC Lions’ offence appears to be getting the jolt it needs for Saturday’s matchup in Toronto as Whitehead has been officially removed from the six-game injured list.
The wide receiver was back out with his teammates 22 days after undergoing surgery for broken bones in his hand; a freak injury suffered in a 30-9 loss against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers back on October 1st. The cast came off quite early in the process and a good sign came earlier this week when he added catching duties to his rehab. After his first full practice in a month, he’s ready to roll. At first glance, he didn’t miss a beat after making an excellent catch early in skelly sessions.
“I’m super pumped. I woke up at 3:43 am to get ready to go to the doctor,” said Whitehead following Thursday’s session.
“I was ready to get an answer. Definitely excited to be back out here with my boys and just trying to go ahead and get a win.”
Although the rematch with the defending Grey Cup champions produced a similar result last week, it was an encouraging sign to see Whitehead on the trip mingling with teammates and some old friends from his time with the Bombers. Now, he;’s ready to help the squad on the field as it pursues a playoff spot in this tight Western race.
As for the inevitable questions about pain thresholds and just how ready he could possibly be this quickly after surgery, Whitehead didn’t hesitate in his response.
“I’ve just got to fight through it. I mean, our backs are against the wall right now and it’s time for us to swing. I’m glad to be back so I can swing with my boys.”
Whitehead has racked up 665 receiving yards, tops in the CFL when he went down with the injury, and four touchdowns on 49 total receptions. The Lions enter this week’s action two points behind the Calgary Stampeders for third in the West but also hold a game in hand and have one more meeting with Calgary coming up on November 12th at BC Place.
You can bet Whitehead had the importance of these games in his mind when he attacked his training and rehab schedule with a high level of intensity as soon as he was cleared to resume physical activity.
“I just tried to keep myself in a positive mindset, you know what I mean? It was hard not being out here. It felt good once I was able to run. I started catching last week and it was just getting better. I’m just glad to finally be back. The bye week definitely helped. The training staff definitely helped. (Strength and Conditioning Coach) Chris Wong got after it, you know what I mean? Like I said, it was hard but I’m glad to be back.”
His trademark smile and infectious attitude were definitely missed around the practice field. With playoff destiny still very much in their hands, Whitehead’s return could go down as a gamechanger in this tight race with the Stamps. But first, it’s time to tackle Toronto.
“It’s very important to us. I just told our guys, our backs are against the wall. We’ve got to put ourselves back in the driver’s seat this week,” Whitehead explained.
One game at a time, as the legendary old cliche’ states.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com