Injured ‘Warrior’ Jones out indefinitely

The 23-year-old forward suffered a partial tear to the ligament, in his right knee, after colliding with England goalkeeper David James in the seventh minute of the match. England prevailed 3-0 with a pair from Jermaine Defoe and one from Gareth Barry.

Jones, who was already ruled out of Saturday’s friendly encounter against Jamaica, now scheduled at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna, will also miss the home-and-away FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda on June 15 and 22. He was yet to fully recover from a fractured right wrist, which he sustained on May 11, before getting this new setback. Jason Scotland, who was controversially omitted from the original 26-member Trinidad and Tobago training squad, was chosen by the Colombian-born coach Francisco Maturana as Jones’ replacement for the trio of matches against Jamaica and Bermuda.

Scotland, who has not donned the national colours since the February 6 friendly international versus Guadeloupe at the Queen’s Park Oval, was the top-scorer in the English League One 2007/2008 season with 29 goals, as his club Swansea City earned promotion to the English Championship Division next season.

The 29-year-old was also selected in the League One’s “Team of the Year” and was voted as the club’s “Player of the Year”. On Monday, Jones underwent an MRI at the Southern Medical Clinic Limited and yesterday, it was revealed that the forward, who plays for Sunderland in the English Premiership, will be heading back to his club this weekend to see a specialist (knee doctor) who will, in turn, determine the length of Jones’ recovery.