Trinidad and Tobago and Superstar Rangers midfielder Kerwin Jemmott would not be considered by national Coach Wim Rijsbergen as he looks to select his 18-man squad on Thursday before the team travels to Guadeloupe for a friendly international on Saturday against the host country.
The Trinidad and Tobago squad has had a few sessions which began last Sunday with 24 players invited, 23 of which are Pro League players.
Kerwin Jemmott who made the list of invited players didn’t show up for the first day of training and according to the ‘TTFF Media’ he was turned away by Coach Wim Rijsbergen on Monday because the player didn’t have a valid reason for his absence the previous day.
The midfielder also didn’t turn up for training on Tuesday with the national team and has opted to return to his Pro League Club as they continue their pre-season preparations.
This was confirmed by Rangers manager Richard Piper. The newly appointed Rangers manager told ‘ttproleague.com’, “Jemmott is currently with us and is working on his fitness as we prepare for the new season. It’s disappointing that he would not be considered for the Guadeloupe match. He had relevant reasons for not showing up for training on Sunday, but the national Coach Wim Rijsbergen didn’t accept.”
However Piper is still holding on to the assurance of the national coach that Jemmott would be recalled to training for the next friendly against El Salvador.
“According to Coach Rijsbergen, Jemmott would be invited to training again when the team resumes training for the El Salvador friendly and I am hoping things run smoothly this time around,” ended Piper.
The 27 year old Kerwin Jemmott only returned to the international scene in January of this year when he represented Trinidad and Tobago in the Digicel Caribbean Cup where they finished second to newly crowned Caribbean Champions Haiti.
Rijsbergen has had three sessions since the resumption of training at the Ato Boldon Stadium and has placed emphasis on ball work since the players are all involved in preseason training with their clubs. But aside from getting it right with the ball, he has also tried to reinforce the importance of proper physical and mental preparation as the country looks ahead to facing the likes of United States, Guatemala and El Salvador at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.