Music: {allcanada} RIDERS' BAGG TO UNDERGO SURGERY ON ACL; SZARKA RELEASED

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

{allcanada} RIDERS' BAGG TO UNDERGO SURGERY ON ACL; SZARKA RELEASED

Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Rob Bagg suffered an injury to the ACL in his right knee while training last week.

Bagg is expected to undergo surgery in London, Ontario on Wednesday and be added to the nine-game injured list at the start of the upcoming season.

"This is obviously very disappointing news for Rob and for the Club," said Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman in a statement. "Rob is a consummate pro and is a leader in our locker room. While it will be tough for Rob and the entire team to lose him on the field, we look forward to having his positive attitude and influence in the locker room throughout the year."

The Roughriders also announced that veteran fullback Chris Szarka has been released.

"It is always difficult to have to release a veteran player, especially someone like Chris," said Taman. "We had a few tough decisions to make heading into training camp and unfortunately this is one of them. Chris has been a valuable component of this team his entire career and his contributions on and off the field will be missed."

Szarka, who has spent the last 14 seasons with the Roughriders, was selected in the second round (13th overall) of the 1997 CFL Canadian College Draft.