KC’s Rodgers out for season

Defen ding champions Kingston College (KC) will be without the services of attacking midfielder Arymanya Rodgers for the rest of the ISSA schoolboy football season due to injury.

KC's head coach Ludlow Bernard told STAR Sports that the Uganda-born Rodgers picked up a knee injury during training last week. Bernard said that while he is still convinced KC will retain the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup title, Rodgers absence is a blow to the team.

"We will find a way without him because we lost 17 players at the end of last season and we are still finding a way," he said.

Rodgers, who won the 2000m steeplechase in record time at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships in March last year, played a key role in helping KC beat North Street rivals St George's College 3-2 in last season's Manning Cup final, breaking a 32-year drought in the process.

Rodgers, who netted eight goals for KC last season, also had a big role in their semi-final last season as he provided both assists to help his team to a 2-1 win over St Andrew Technical.

KC are now through to the quarter-finals of the competition and Bernard said despite a few off issues which hamper the team, they have been moving from strength to strength this season.

"I am still very optimistic about our chances, despite losing all of these players. This group has been coming together pretty nicely and we just have to keep working on the training pitch," he said.

"It is not all that perfect because there are still areas of the field that I have concern. Additionally, we have issues off the field, which, to some extent, is affecting our programme," he said. However, he would not get into those issues.