Bryan was injured 4 games back in a game against the Toronto Argonauts, and it seemed as though his good start to the season would come crashing to a halt and his momentum would be on hold for the foreseeable future. But Burnham is set to return and is in great spirits, and according to his teammates, that’s not at all unusual.

Burnham made his triumphant return to practice just this past Tuesday, and he is set to play in the game against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday. It’s set to go down at 10 PM EST.

On the injuries and how he felt soon after sustaining them, he had this to say:

“I just remember feeling that pain. And it knocked the wind out of me…Initially all I was thinking was ‘I can’t breathe,’ trying to get that wind back, trying to get in a position where I could breathe…Eventually the breath came back to me…

I got up and ran off the field, thinking it’s gonna get better and better. It didn’t get better. Just really shallow breaths. I couldn’t take a deep breath. I could feel that something was wrong. And then the doctors said it would be wise to go to the hospital and get it checked out. It’s a great thing that we have doctors on the sideline.”

via The Province

According to a report at The Province, Bryan was brought to the hospital and there they inserted a tube through his fractured ribs and that process re-inflated his collapsed lung. According to the report his lungs collapsed once again two days later, however.

“That was the hardest part. The pain, the discomfort, that part is honestly kind of easy…It was the not being able to interact with the guys, not being able to be there with the guys. That was hard. Not that I wasn’t a part of it … It’s just different than being in the huddle and going out there and competing, being tired together, struggling together, picking each other up … all that stuff. I missed it…

I’m definitely gonna have to rein in the emotions a little bit. I’m gonna be excited and grateful just to be back out there…I knew it was only gonna be a few weeks, but when you’re in it, when you’re first getting the news of what the injury is, my mind automatically goes, ‘Man — am I going to play again?’ I just want to play football. I know I’m going to be excited. I’m going to have to calm myself down a little bit.”

via The province (link above)

According to QB Nathan Rourke, the advantage of having Bryan back is in fact huge:

“He’s got such a positive attitude. He shows up. He’s always laughing. He’s making everyone else laugh…He works hard, but he doesn’t take things too seriously. He enjoys the game for what it is. When there’s a grind of the season, he makes things fun. He’s got that contagious energy…

Defensively, when you’re lining up against Bryan Burnham, you have to know where he is. You have to understand that he’s gonna get the ball. And I think that just the gravity of that is good for us.”

via The province (link above)

He is a long-time BC Lion, having signed on with the team in 2014. The 32 year old is a Moorestown, New Jersey native and got signed with the Lions soon after he played his college ball for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, where he had quite the college career. In the CFL he is a 3 –time CFL All-Star and a 5-time CFL West All-Star.

*For all your 2022 CFL Season News: CFL News Hub

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