QB Zach Collaros back at practice for Winnipeg Blue Bombers after leaving last game

With the Banjo Bowl just three days away, quarterback Zach Collaros was certainly a sight for sore eyes for fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Collaros returned to the practice field with the rest of his teammates on Wednesday, just three days after getting knocked out of the game in the first half of the Labour Day Classic against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Collaros was removed from the game late in the second quarter after taking a hit to the head from Riders defensive lineman Miles Brown, but the move was purely precautionary considering his long history of head injuries.

The Bombers have listed him with a neck injury and he was a full participant while running the first-string offence at practice, so, it shouldn’t keep him from playing in the rematch with the Riders on Saturday. The Bombers starting quarterback is trying to move past the hit and focus on this week’s contest without playing the blame game.

“It is what it is,” Collaros told reporters after practice. “It happened. It’s in the past now.

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“Obviously, I had to come out of the game. With my history of head injuries, as you guys know, it’s well documented, and the neck issues that I’ve had, we usually err on the side of caution. So, the doctor at that time felt comfortable doing that. And I wasn’t really in a position to fight with him. He is the doctor, right?”

This was the third straight Labour Day game in which Collaros has taken a cheap shot; it has some calling for stiffer penalties for hits to the head. But Collaros isn’t sure if bigger fines or suspensions are the right answer.

“There’s obviously answers,” he said. “I don’t want to sit here and advocate for people losing money. That’s up for the league and our union. Our union is typically in a tough spot because they have to protect everybody, the pocketbooks included, so, we’ll see.”

Collaros wasn’t the only player back from injury for the Bombers as changes are on the way for their offensive line after playing last week without two of their veterans. Patrick Neufeld was a full participant in practice after missing the past four games with a knee injury. Stanley Bryant was limited in practice after he sat out last week with an illness after having to be stretchered off the field the week before.

There’s a chance both could return on Saturday.

“Veteran guys,” said head coach Mike O’Shea, “they understand what the atmosphere is going to be like and nothing’s too big for them. But I thought our O-line did, they still want to play better, but they did enough.”

Linebacker Adam Bighill (knee) and receiver Lucky Whitehead (ankle) both missed Wednesday’s practice after suffering injuries against the Riders.

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