WINNIPEG - From lasers to stem cell therapy, no treatment is being spared for injured Montreal Alouettes starting quarterback Davis Alexander.
Alexander was at the controls for Montreal鈥檚 first practice on Wednesday in preparation for Sunday鈥檚 Grey Cup game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
He was rolling out and jogging, but not sprinting yet because of the left hamstring he tweaked in last Saturday鈥檚 CFL East Division final win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Since that game, the plan was for Alexander to have up to five treatments per day.
When asked at Wednesday鈥檚 meeting with the media how many treatments he had on Tuesday and what they involved, Alexander said he had five, plus a long one.
鈥淪ome of the treatment, obviously, massage,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e do a little bit of stem, I hate stem, but they gave me some stem.
鈥淲e do some laser stuff, ultrasound stuff and then some strength and activation things.鈥
Stem cell therapy for athletes often involves injections of stem cells into an injured area to promote repair of tissues, reduce inflammation and pain and speed up recovery.
The unbeaten leader said he felt good after practice.
鈥淏etter than I expected, just because I think I鈥檓 finally not sore from the Hamilton game, so that helps a little bit,鈥 Alexander said. 鈥淏ut I felt great. This is playoff football and I鈥檒l be ready to go.鈥
Known for his creativity when he sprints out of the pocket, Alexander said he鈥檚 not sure when he鈥檒l try to run.
鈥淲e have a checklist that we鈥檙e kind of going through as the week鈥檚 gone on,鈥 he said. 鈥淭oday was the first practice, so we felt like Day 1 I was able to check off all the boxes that we want to for Day 1.
鈥淒ay 2 will be a different task, Day 3 will be a different task. Yeah, just keep going from there.鈥
Montreal head coach Jason Maas said Alexander moved well in practice.
鈥淗e looked great to me, better than I thought he would be,鈥 Maas said. 鈥淚 think he probably felt better than he thought he would, too.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of work put into his body already this week and there鈥檚 going to be plenty more to do.鈥
He reiterated Alexander will play in the Grey Cup.
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to start, and what I witnessed today, I won鈥檛 be surprised that he finishes it, either,鈥 Maas said.
鈥淭rust me, he鈥檚 dealt with what he鈥檚 playing with. When he鈥檚 started a game, he鈥檚 dealt with it throughout the entire game and he doesn鈥檛 want to come off the field. So the expectation is, when he starts, he鈥檚 going to finish it.鈥
Alexander was limited to seven regular-season games in his first full season as Montreal鈥檚 starter because of the hamstring injury.聽
He heads into the championship game with an 13-0 record as a starter, including a CFL regular-season record of 11-0 that goes back to last year.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson is the backup for the club that went 10-8 through the regular season.
Linemen update
Montreal offensive left guard Pier-Olivier Lestage missed the East final because of a neck injury.
He was on the field Wednesday and Maas was thinking positive about his return.
鈥淚t鈥檚 healing. It seemed to be much better this week,鈥 Maas said. 鈥淭he expectation for us is that he鈥檒l play.鈥
Defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson (shoulder) was also practising.
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be a kind of game-time decision,鈥 Maas said.
Wait and see
Receiver Austin Mack was limited at practice.
Mack said he re-injured his leg late in the Hamilton game. It was the same leg that kept him out of six regular-season games.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 12, 2025.
