Jamaican midfielder Austin might Miss clash against Mexico

The Jamaica Football Federation is still optimistic regarding the injury sustained to key Reggae Boy midfielder Rudolf Austin on the weekend.

Austin who joined Leeds United earlier this summer from SK Brann was stretchered off the field on Saturday early in the second half of the English League Championship clash between Leeds and Watford with a suspected fractured ankle.

Leeds’ manager Neil Warnock was extremely worried as the player left the field on a stretcher, but yesterday he changed his stance.

“It’s better news than we first thought,” Warnock told the Leeds United website (http://www.leedsunited.com).

“The swelling made it difficult for us to get a full diagnosis until Monday evening. We wish him well in his recovery and, hopefully, he will be back with us sooner rather than later.”

Captain Burrell, along with Whitmore are currently in the midst of a recruitment programme that aims to bolster the strength of the national team with England-based talent, ahead of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, which begins in February.

Initial worries were that Austin would miss  the rest of the season, which would certainly have seen him miss most of the qualifiers, but a revised prognosis could see him back in action within two months if there are no setbacks to his recovery.

“We remain hopeful that the injury will not keep him out of any of the qualifiers, but we will not say too much on it now,” Burrell said.

Presently it seems unlikely that Austin will be ready for the national team’s opening game at Mexico’s Azteca Stadium.

The former Portmore United player has scored three goals for Leeds United so far in 19 games.

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