COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Both Omar Cummings and Tyrone Marshall may be available for the Colorado Rapids for more games than first thought amid doubts about their participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup for Jamaica.
Cummings (pictured above, right), who has not played for the Rapids since coming off the field with an ankle injury against Houston on May 4, told MLSsoccer.com on Saturday that he had written to the Jamaican Football Federation telling them he would not be joining the Reggae Boyz for at least the opening group games.
Jamaica begin their Gold Cup against Grenada on June 6 and have two other games over the following week against Guatemala (June 10) and Honduras (June 13).
Cummings said he wasn’t ruling out appearing for his country if Jamaica make it through to the knockout stages.
“I just told them I’m not ready yet, but if they need me later, we’ll take a look then,” he said.
That means that the striker could be available for both of Colorado’s next two games at home to Philadelphia (June 4) and away to Portland (June 11). He said he was hopeful of making at least the bench this weekend.
Marshall (pictured above, left), who played a full 90 minutes on Saturday night for the Rapids in a 1-1 tie against Sporting Kansas City, said his participation in the tournament was still up in the air.
There remains doubt about whether he will be a starter in the Gold Cup and an injury on Saturday to Rapids central defender Marvell Wynne emphasized the need for him to be available for his club team. Wynne appeared to pull his hamstring late on, and the Rapids played down a man for the last ten minutes.
“I want to make sure everything is good here first,” Marshall told MLSsoccer.com on Saturday. “Here is first priority."
Marshall said he would try and get the situation completely resolved within the next few days with the most likely scenario being available for the knockout stages. He was due to join Jamaica on June 2 for their pre-tournament camp in Los Angeles.
“If Jamaica make it through and they need me, then we’ll see,” he said. "Going away [now] and leaving the team short-handed wouldn’t be right.”
Marshall, who last played for his national team in January 2010 — a game that appeared to mark his retirement from international soccer — was a surprise call-up for the Gold Cup. He said it would be disappointing to miss out on such a tournament.
“It’s a tough situation as it’s a great opportunity for me to go back and play for the national team, but I also have to make sure I take care of everything here first," he said.
If Marshall and Cummings stay in Colorado, that would mean no players from the Rapids would be involved in the Gold Cup, at least during the group stages. The team will be missing only Sanna Nyassi on international duty as he joins up next week with Gambia for a June 7 friendly against Gabon.
