The Troy Trojans begin preparations this week for Saturday’s showdown with Louisiana for homecoming, but they may have to play without two key playmakers.

The Trojans knocked off rival South Alabama last Tuesday night 38-17, but cornerback Marcus Jones and  receiver Deondre Douglas both left the game due to injuries.

Jones left the game early in the second half after he hauled in an interception before crashing down on his shoulder.

“There is no good time to get injured, but his happened on a phenomenal play,” said head coach Neal Brown. “If you’re going to get injured, make a phenomenal play. He injured his clavicle on that interception against South. We feel like he will probably return. He is not going to be active this week. We are hopeful that he will return at some point this season.”

Jones has played in all of Troy’s eight games this season. He has one kickoff return for a touchdown this season and has two interceptions.

“I think pound for pound he may be our best football player. He has played at a high level and he is competitive,” Brown said. “He loves to play and he loves to compete. Obviously, he is key for us in the return game and he has not only been a starting corner for us, but we move him inside and play him in the nickel position when we go into some of our third down packages.”

Douglas hurt his foot on a long run against South Alabama. He was listed on this week’s depth chart, but is questionable to play in Saturday’s game.

“He hurt his foot at the end of that run there,” Brown said. “Thankfully nothing broken there, but he is going to be questionable this week. It’s kind of a mid-foot injury, so we’ll see how it goes this week.”

Douglas has 35 catches for a total of 354 yards with six touchdowns.

“We are a little different offensively now than maybe we were a month ago,” Brown said. “It doesn’t mean we are any better or worse, we are just different and so we have to use our tools a little differently.”

The Trojans will look for other players to step up this Saturday against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us,” Brown said. “We’ve been fortunate with injuries probably over the last couple of years. We have had to deal with our fair share this year. It creates anopportunity for the next guy.”