Jamaica’s talismanic goalkeeping captain, Andre Blake, is not as seriously injured as was first feared.
Blake was forced out of the Gold Cup final in Santa Clara, California, half after being kicked by U.S. midfielder Kellyn Acosta as both jostled for a loose ball close to the Jamaican goal. There were jitters as Blake looked like he might have suffered a serious injury involving a potentially broken hand or wrist. But X-rays taken at Levi’s Stadium revealed no broken bones.
Cut between fingers
“I’ve got a cut between my middle finger and my index finger,” Blake said after the U.S. team’s 2-1 victory over Jamaica. “I got seven stitches so that’s what it is for right now, so hopefully I can get back pretty soon.”
Blake was awarded the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper while sporting a bandage on his right hand.
Stitches to be removed in 10 days
Blake entered Wednesday’s final as one of the best players in the 2017 Gold Cup. On Wednesday night he indicating another good showing. He parried a rasping shot from Jozy Altidore before suffering the injury attempting to slap the rebound away as Acosta raced in to try and score.
“I wasn’t sure what it was. I just knew I got hit so I took off my glove and saw it was a pretty bad cut. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to continue, but that happens sometimes. The stitches are going to be out in 10 days, so from there on in it’s going to be a day-by-day situation to see how it feels,” Blake said. “It was pretty painful, but it’s soccer.”
Blake had three clean slates in five games and was only beaten twice throughout the whole tournament. His loss proved detrimental to Jamaica Reggae Boyz who had to settle for second place behind hosts USA.
