Midfielder Carlos Edwards bid his teammates farewell and wished them well in today's crucial CONCACAF Gold Cup fixture against Colombia as he headed back to London after being advised that he would not be fit to take part in the remainder of the tournament.
Edwards resumed training on Monday morning at Barry University after straining his thigh in training at Fort Lauderdale two weeks ago. But inside the first half hour on Monday, he pulled up and had to receive treatment from team sports therapist Zeph Nicholas.
Following T&T's 2-2 draw with Panama on Sunday, Edwards was examined by Miami-based Orthopaedic surgeon Daniel Kalbac in the dressing room. Kalbac said while it would have been tough for Edwards to play on Tuesday, he would be able to give it a try at training but Beenhakker preferred not to push the Luton Town man too much.
Edwards is expected to meet up with his Luton teammates for a preseason trip in Bulgaria.
"It's is a disappointment for me because I came here hoping to play with the guys and get my first Gold Cup appearance. but at this time it's best that I return home and put this behind me. Hopefully the injury will heal in time for the bigger matches coming up," Edwards told TTFF Media.
Beenhakker meantime met with the players at the Inter-Continental Hotel on Monday night and advised them on the importance of Tuesday's game.
"The bigger emphasis is obviously on the World Cup games and particularly that game against the United States. But for this game on Tuesday, we have no choice but to go out and play well and get a result. We came here for results and I hate losing or not winning and I hope you too feel the same way," Beenhakker said.
"The entire exercise I felt though was a good one for us to spend some time together and get ourselves ready for the rest of the World Cup campaign."