Hamilton Tiger-Cats expected to place Mitchell on 6-game injured list after ankle surgery

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats said star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell underwent successful ankle surgery Monday morning and is expected to make a full recovery.

The 36-year-old Mitchell was injured Sunday night while being sacked by Winnipeg's Jake Ceresna in the third quarter of Hamilton's 14-13 home loss to the Blue Bombers. Ceresna came down hard on Mitchell's left ankle, which was stabilized by medical personnel before Mitchell left the field in an ambulance.

In 2023 — Mitchell's first season with Hamilton — he required surgery to repair a lower-leg fracture and made just six starts.

Orlondo Steinauer, Hamilton's president of football operations, said Mitchell "is in good spirits."

"His focus now turns to the rehabilitation process, which he will approach with the same drive he has shown throughout his career," Steinauer added in a statement.

But there was no mention regarding how long Mitchell will be out, if he'll return this season, or whether the injury is season-ending. Hamilton has yet to officially place Mitchell on the six-game injured list but is expected to do so this week.

Veteran linebacker Reggie Stubblefield said the harsh reality for Hamilton now is it must continue with the season, with or without Mitchell.

"It's very tough, very emotional because that's QB1, that's the leader," Stubblefield said. "But it's a long season, you just have to go back to work, figure things out and stick to things that give us winning football.

"You can't keep your head down. You've just really got to do what we said we came here to do no matter the situation and look forward to it."

Winnipeg starter Zach Collaros, 37, also left the game. He suffered an upper-body injury after being sacked by Stubblefield in the second quarter.

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