Saskatchewan Roughriders' running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon was sidelined with a leg injury which kept him out of action for 11 games during the 2025 CFL season.
"I had to get out there to test it out and get used to it," Bertrand-Hudon said to voice of the Riders, Dave Thomas. "It's a full go, I'm okay. Mental's all right. I'm not scared of it anymore, so it feels good."
There were some mental hurdles for Bertrand-Hudon when he was initially sidelined with the leg injury.
"It's been a battle, but I took one step every day," Bertrand-Hudon said. "We have a great training staff over here. Everybody helped me out to get back to where I was and it's a blessing to be back here."
When head coach Corey Mace was asked about his perspective on Bertrand-Hudon overcoming injuries, he detailed how everyone's process is not the same.
"Everybody's different, the mental aspect is always tough sitting out and watching your brothers be able to do the work that you want to do. But then also believing in the confidence that whatever injury you're recovering from, you're still operating at the same speed and same power that you had before, but you're not going to know until you go and do it," Mace said.
"You trust that process and go play. Unfortunately, in this sport, the injury rate is hovering somewhere around 100 percent at some point. So if you're out there, you've got to go, you can't think about that stuff."
The first game Bertrand-Hudon returned from his injury was against the Ottawa Redblacks in Week 18. He recorded one carry for two yards and one reception for seven yards. He also had one kick return brought back for 17 yards. In Week 19, the 29-year-old carried the ball four times for 32 yards in a West Division-clinching win over the Toronto Argonauts.
"A team that won everything and got to the playoffs, as soon as they get adversity, they haven't been through it," Bertrand-Hudon said. "We've been through it almost every game, so knowing that whenever it gets tough in the situation and regardless of the hype of the game, we'll be able to fight through and win."
Overall, the six-foot, 220-pound running back has played six games for Saskatchewan in 2025, carrying the ball 24 times for 130 yards with one touchdown along with five receptions for 26 yards and one major.
The Green and White host the B.C. Lions in the team's final regular season game on Saturday, October 25 at Mosaic Stadium. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates have the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder will have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen and watch our comprehensive coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
