The Football fraternity was plunged into mourning with the death of ex-national footballer Richard Bomber Theodore.
The former Defence Force footballer died at the Port of Spain General Hospital on Saturday, following a bout of fever.
According to his sister Gail, 32-year-old Theodore took ill with severe fever last Monday and was admitted to hospital. A CT Scan was done but doctors revealed it was negative and they had to do more tests to determine the cause of the fever.
Theodore drifted in and out of consciousness during the week and he succumbed to the infection on Saturday.
An autopsy will be performed today.
Theodore was a regular player up to 1997, when he fell off a tree at St Peters Day celebrations in his hometown of Carenage on June 29, 1997 and suffered severe injuries to his head and spine.
He never played football again. After months of rehabilitation, Theodore resumed working with the Defence Force after recovering from a coma, Theodore spent years undergoing therapy from the Army instructors before he was re-admitted to the regiment where he was later promoted to Lance Corporal.
Richard Theodore was a member of the national Under-20 team under coach Bertille St Clair at the World Youth Cup in Portugal in 1991, the first Caribbean team ever to reach a world champion-ship series.
Commenting on Theodores death, Defence Force coach and ex-Strike Squad midfielder Hutson Barber Charles said: He was one of the better defenders we ever produced and, barring the accident, I felt he had a chance to play outside (overseas).