The Stampeders on Wednesday announced that Ken-Yon Rambo, the Canadian Football League’s leading receiver in 2008, will be lost for the season because of a knee injury suffered Friday night in a game against the BC Lions.

“The repair on Ken-Yon’s knee will occur in two stages,” said head coach/general manager John Hufnagel. “He’s booked for surgery on Tuesday and there will be a scope to repair the meniscus and also clean out the knee joint. He will then have four weeks of rehab and he’ll then undergo another procedure to fix his ACL.

“Ken-Yon understands the difficulty in recovering from this type of injury, but he’s very committed to being here in training camp next year.”

Rambo, who is in his fifth season with the Stampeders, is doing his best to cope with the setback.

“Obviously this is a hard time for me right now,” said the Ohio State product. “After coming off a great season last year and being the leading receiver in the CFL and wanting to help the team get back to the Grey Cup this year. Unfortunately, I’m not going to play the rest of the season. You all know the extent of my injury. How I’m feeling? It’s mixed emotions. It’s football. I’m here today, I’m breathing.”

Though he won’t play again in 2009, Rambo will remain with the team for the remainder of the season.

“I’m here,” he said. “I’m not going nowhere. I’m going to support my team, I’m going to be here the whole time, through everything — meetings and everything. I’m going to be here because I’m a team guy and I love my guys. It’s unfortunate, but this is what it is.

“I don’t have too much else to say. I can’t wait to get this out of the way and get this rehab going and I can’t wait till next year. I’m very anxious. This is a whole new thing for me, I’ve never been injured to this high degree. I’ve never had any big knee injuries or anything like that, so this is going to be a little bit different. But my head is going to be into it. I’m a professional and I’ve been into it for nine years now, so I know what to bring to the table team-wise.

“To all our fans, thank you for the support and for backing us up. Keep watching the show because the show’s going to be good. Stick with us — it’s going to be a great year and I’ll be back next year.”