Trinidad and Tobago striker Stern John's 28th birthday celebrations were dampened on Saturday after a first-half mishap against Reading FC resulted in the player suffering damaged ligaments in his right ankle which could force him out of action for at least a month.
Minutes after scoring for the "Sky Blues" in their 3-2 win, John was involved in a goalmouth attack which saw Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann fall awkwardly on John's ankle and, after trying to run it out in the remaining minutes of the session, John then pulled up in the dressing room at half time.
He was rushed to hospital and although x-rays showed no major damage, he has been advised to rest for another two weeks in the first instance, as that period could determine how long before he can return to action.
"It really soured the day for me when it happened. When the 'keeper fell on me at first I felt some pain and I thought I could run it out but then it all went bad in the dressing room. I realised no movement was possible and that was the end of my run for the game," John told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes yesterday.
Now forced to walk with the assistance of crutches, John said he was still experiencing some pain on the ankle.
"At the moment there's still some discomfort and I will need to rest it but, hopefully, the healing process will not be too long and I could be back on the pitch at least before the start of December. I know there's a World Cup qualifier in November (against St Vincent and the Grenadines) and for sure I'll be pushing to get back in time for that date."
"This certainly wasn't one of my better birthdays, but then again the injury could have been a lot worse because my history has records of some bad injuries so I guess in this case I'll just have to rest up and get fit again for the remaining matches in the qualifying campaign and for Coventry," John added.
And there was further injury news for the T&T camp when striker Cornell Glenn suffered a hamstring pull on Saturday while playing for New York/New Jersey Metrostars in a 2-0 loss to DC United.