MAYLEE ATTIN-Johnson, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago women football team, faces a lengthy rehabilitation process after sustaining a knee injury during the recent Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.
According to Attin-Johnson, “(last Thursday) I got a result from a doctor. I will need to do a lot of strengthening and physiotherapy. I will probably be out for two or three months.”
About the injury, she reflected, “I collided with a player. Those sort of things happen in games like that. We were against Mexico and it was unfortunate.
“It (occurred during) the last tenminutes of the game.
“I’m (displeased) about that,” she continued. “I’ve been through a lot of injuries before and this one will be no other. I’ll be mentally ready to go through the rehab process, get back out on the field and do what I do best.”
The Ross Russell-coached outfit drew 1-1 against Colombia and 2-2 against Argentina, before falling to a 3-1 loss to Mexico.
Looking back at the Games, Attin-Johnson said, “we’ve been to the Pan American Games before. It’s nothing new to us. (But) it was a bit different.
“We (were) away from the Games Village, where there is the real experience, in terms of having to meet other athletes.
“But, for us, in terms of playing, we did our best considering our circumstances and the lack of preparation that we had going into the Games.
“We probably had a month or so to prepare and we were going up against teams that were coming off of the (World) Cup,” she continued. “They were already match-fit and they had that experience at that level. All the teams that we played in that tournament rank at least ten spots above us.”
She pointed out, “for us to hold Colombia and Argentina to a draw, was good. Unfortunately we (were) not able to come out with a win there.
“The experience was fine but, we’re going to sound like a broken record with not having the preparation going into those type of tournaments.”
Asked if there were any improvements in terms of the relationship with the players and the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), she bluntly replied, “December 2 gone and the first time we started training was five to six months afterwards. Quite clearly that answers (the question).”
The injury forced Attin-Johnson to miss the final matches with her team Chancellor Angels in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).
“I think it was a great idea, a great initiative,” was her view of the WPL. “Thank God it got off the ground because I’m not sure if anyone would have thought of that idea and implement it the way that the Minister (of Sport Brent Sancho) did.
“But the only thing that really hampered its is the national team leaving for three weeks to go to the Pan American Games.
The hype boiled down from the way we started. In terms of off- the-field, I think that the administration would have learnt a lot because a lot of them were new to something like this. I know if it happens next year, they would have that experience to know what not to do, and improve in that aspect,” Attin-Johnson ended.