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This article was published 25/6/2019 (457 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An injury prevented Jovan Santos-Knox from finishing 2018 on the field with Winnipeg, but it seems appropriate he’ll get his start on the 2019 CFL campaign against the Blue Bombers at IG Field Thursday night.

Santos-Knox, who missed Winnipeg’s two playoff games last year due to a broken foot suffered in Week 21, signed with Edmonton as a free agent and is expected to be in the lineup when the Eskimos put their 2-0 record on the line.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Jovan Santos-Knox.

The resulting off-season surgery set in motion an arduous rehab process for the 24-year-old product of Waterbury, Conn. He hasn’t played since.

"I had a screw put in my foot, in an area that doesn’t get very much blood flow... so it’s been a trial in my rehab, just trying to get it 100 per cent healed," Santos-Knox said on the phone Tuesday afternoon. "It’s been humbling, probably just what I needed to refocus everything and recalibrate and get back into the basics. At this point, I’m itching to get back on the field and ready for this thing to be over. It’s always going to be there, some pain and discomfort and whatnot, but you’ve gotta deal with it."

Despite being laid up and after having to decline several NFL tryout offers, Santos-Knox was a much-sought-after free agent. He was coming off an impressive sophomore season when he registered 82 defensive tackles, one special-teams tackle, six sacks and two forced fumbles in 18 games.

As a rookie in 2017, he piled up 47 defensive tackles, 19 special-teams tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

While Esks rookie Vontae Diggs filled his starting role, Santos-Knox spent training camp and the start of the regular season putting the finishing touches on a return to top form.

"Obviously, we’ve been doing great on defence, so we were able to buy me a couple of extra weeks to ease my way back into it," Santos-Knox said. "I had my foot in a cast for three or four months where I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do much. I’m waking up the muscles in the area, that was our plan. We weren’t rushing back.

"I just started running full speed a couple of weeks ago, but I’m back and I feel like the wind’s back up there. I took the last couple of weeks to really work on my conditioning and I feel good."

Keeping his cool while he debuts for his new team in front of former teammates at IGF fans won’t be easy.

"My goal is to keep myself calm but anybody who’s seen me play in Winnipeg knows I’m an emotional player, I carry my emotions on my sleeve, I have fun and I’m energetic," he said.

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"Ever since I signed with Edmonton, I’ve been excited and amped up for this week right here.

"For me right now, it’s about containing these emotions and remembering the task. We can’t let emotions get in the way of that."

The trip to Winnipeg is a chance to visit with old buddies such as Brandon Alexander, Jackson Jeffcoat and Adam Bighill, but it will be a pre-game with limits for the normally chatty Santos-Knox.

"This week, we made a pact that no one was gonna talk until game day," Santos-Knox said. "Even then, who knows what’s gonna be said, but it’s a Western opponent and we know what’s on the line."

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14