Riders Canadian offensive lineman Philip Blake is going to be out for a while.

“Blake broke his leg, he had surgery this morning, he’ll be out for at least six weeks,” Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said.

“Bone can heal up, they say, a lot faster than ligaments. It’s not the worst, we don’t think he’ll be gone for the year. He was grading out as our top lineman.”

The 33-year-old was originally selected by the Montreal Alouettes in the third-round, 23rd overall during the 2011 CFL draft. He had started 57 games in four seasons with Montreal prior to being acquired by the Riders at the trade deadline last year. He spent three seasons with the Denver Broncos after being taken the fourth round, 108th overall of the 2012 NFL draft.

Blake started three games for Saskatchewan to end last season and five at the beginning of 2019 before suffering the setback against B.C. in Week 6. The Riders will look to Dariusz Bladek, Braden Schram and Dakoda Shepley to fill the hole along the offensive line.