By Daraine Luton, Freelance ReporterSTRIKER RICARDO 'Wily Boo' Fuller will be ready for tomorrow's crucial return leg second round World Cup qualifier against Haiti at the National Stadium.
The 25-year-old, who plies his trade with Preston North End in the English First division, yesterday trained with the Reggae Boyz for the first time since the team returned from Miami Sunday.
And According to Jamaica's Technical Director Carl Brown, the response he got from Fuller during yesterday evening's inter-squad game at the National Stadium is very encouraging and suggests that the striker is ready to take on Haiti tomorrow.
"I believe Ricardo will be ready for 120 (minutes), not only 90," Brown told The Gleaner.
"His character is of such that he will go on, once he is in the mood and he is feeling as well as we saw him tonight he is going to be playing for as long as we need him. That is the type of quality that he has and I have no doubt that if he is not able to go, he is going to put up his hand and say 'coach I am not able to go'."
On Thursday, the striker had fluid drained from his right knee.
Prior to Saturday's game in Miami, Fuller was out of action for almost a month after undergoing an operation to 'wash out' his troubled right knee.
Asked whether it is not too risky to put Fuller on the field in this game, which is expected to be a pressure situation, Brown said it is now or never.
RISK FOOTBALL
"This is about risk football. We don't have any other time to do it. If we don't risk him now and we lose this game, we don't have any other time to risk him," Brown responded.
However, he added that he is also concerned about the player's own career.
"It's about the player too. I am very concerned about his future as an individual too. He is very important in the decision making. If when we question him tonight and he is not able to go then we won't push it," said Brown.
Meanwhile, defender Claude Davis enjoyed a the day watching from the sidelines. According to Brown, Davis was given a day to rest because of a sore knee but he will be okay.
Also Ian Goodison, who played in Saturday's game with a sore hamstring, looked fairly comfortable in training but had his inter-squad practice game cut short after he collided with Jermaine Johnson and landed heavily on his left shoulder.
Jamie Lawrence, flown in as cover for Micah Hyde who is due to return from England where he left to take care of personal matters, was his usual sharp self, looking busy in the centre of midfield before he, too, was forced to leave the field after a collision.
The other injured man Ricardo Gardner, who is also coming off a knee surgery, looked fairly comfortable during training and seems set to start in the left side of defence ahead of Garfield Reid, who was on the 'B' team yesterday.
