Rijsbergen turns away Jemmott.
T&T Express Reports.[/size]
T&T squad to be finalised tomorrow
Trinidad and Tobago head coach Wim Rijsbergen is expected to finalise an 18-man squad by tomorrow before the national team travel to Guadeloupe for Saturday's friendly international against the French islanders.
Rijsbergen has had three sessions since the resumption of training at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, and has placed emphasis on ball work since the players are all involved in pre-season training with their clubs. Aside from getting it right with the ball, he has also tried to reinforce the importance of proper physical and mental preparation as the Soca Warriors look ahead to facing the likes of United States, Guatemala and El Salvador at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June in the USA.
T&T midfielder Kerwyn Jemmott, who missed the first day of training on Sunday, did not turn up yesterday. He did show up on Monday but was turned away by Rijsbergen, who felt the player didn't have a valid or timely reason for his absence the previous day. It appears Jemmott may not be considered for the Guadeloupe match.
Superstar Rangers chairman Richard Fakoory said he was unaware of Jemmott's no-show or any reason for it. He only found out on Monday but said he was not informed as to why the player was again absent.
St Johnstone striker Jason Scotland will also not be considered for Saturday's match. His club are in action on Sunday against Dundee in Scotland.
And midfielder Leslie Fitzpatrick is back home but is still recovering from strained ankle ligaments sustained in training following T&T's 2-1 loss to Panama during their Central American tour in January.
Fitzpatrick, however, took up the invitation to meet with directors of a Shanghai-based Chinese Premier Division club which he preferred to leave undisclosed for the time being.
"I got the invitation and even though they knew I suffered the injury they wanted to hold talks so I went up there. I wasn't able to do much on the field but we held talks and I also visited a doctor. I spent nine days there but I'm still limping at the moment. The doctors said initially it should take me at least six weeks to heal and that time is almost up so I'm hoping I can be back into the thick of things pretty soon. I also have a couple A-League clubs showing interest," Fiztpatrick told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes.
Also in Trinidad at this time are English-based duo Carlos Edwards, recovering from a shoulder injury sustained playing for promotion-seeking Sunderland, and Kenwyne Jones, who has time off from his Southampton club duties. He is home on personal business.
Looking ahead to the match against Trinidad and Tobago, which is being hosted by Digicel, Guy Roch, president of the Guadeloupe Football Association, commented: "As this is our first time to compete in the Gold Cup we realise how important our preparations are to fully support the massive interest and excitement that this opportunity has brought sweeping across our country. The people at Digicel have invested massive sums of money to help assist, first our qualification to the tournament and now going a step further by ensuring we are properly prepared."
