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Days after his jaw was broken during a Belgium Pro League match, in-form Jamaican striker Shamar Nicholson, who is set to undergo surgery tomorrow, says he will be available for the country’s next set of FIFA World Cup qualifiers (WCQ) in October.
Nicholson was knocked unconscious during Sporting Charleroi’s 1-0 defeat to Club Brugge on Saturday and later learned he had broken his jaw, raising concern among Reggae Boyz supporters that he would be forced to miss the team’s upcoming assignments.
However, the former Boys’ Town ace, who has scored the country’s only two goals in their three World Cup qualifying games so far, is expecting to miss only a week of action and noted that he will be available for national duties, albeit with the help of a protective face mask.
“Thursday (tomorrow) I will do a small operation. They say that it is only a 30-minute surgery. They are going to push back the bone a bit. So it is like a week or so that I will be out,” Nicholson stated.
“I will have to wear a mask on my face to protect it, so it is just that but I will be good to come in for the (WCQ) games,” Nicholson added.
However, having not yet received an official report from the club’s medical staff, Reggae Boyz team doctor Derrick McDowell was more cautious in his outlook.
NO OFFICIAL REPORT
“I haven’t got an official report. But what is clear is that he will have a procedure on Thursday which seems as if it is a manipulation rather than an operation. He will be free to play in a face mask, and that is what I heard from him, but I haven’t received an official report. I don’t have a diagnosis, so I don’t know what is wrong with him,” said McDowell.
“If I don’t have a diagnosis I cannot speak on his condition, so I cannot say anything definitive,” he commented. “He will have a procedure and it will be a manipulation as opposed to them cutting him, so that he will be allowed to play with a face mask.”
Meanwhile, the Reggae Boyz physiotherapist, Kevin Christie, is confident that the striker will be able to feature with a mask but also warned that it was better to wait until after the operation before making any declarations.
“It is a possibility (Nicholson could be available) but we still have to wait until Thursday for further confirmation. In my experience, he should be able to play but we really have to wait until Thursday and then we can decide,” said Christie.
“We (medical team) are not there and we did not assess him to find out what was wrong, so we cannot say. They (club) are dealing with him there. He represents the club and at this point the club is responsible for him, so we really have to wait,” he added.
Nicholson scored in Jamaica’s 2-1 loss to Mexico as well as their 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. The team also suffered a 3-0 loss to Panama in their opening assignment.
The Jamaicans will face the USA away in their next match on October 7 before hosting Canada on October 10 and travelling to Honduras on October 13.
livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com
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