SAO PAULO, Brazil — The growing number of groin injuries among the National Under-17 footballers here has grown to five and is now a cause for concern, said team doctor Ivor O’Connor.

First-string goalkeeper Odean Clarke, Noel Johnson, Melvin Blair, Oshane Jenkins and Troy Moo-Penn are the players nursing groin- injuries, with Clarke said to be the worst with a possible Grade 2 tear.

“Yes it is a cause for concern because groin injuries can be prevented specifically by doing groin strengthening exercises, and that is something that the trainer has been looking at, and is currently working on it also,” Dr O’Connor told the Observer.

He added: “Even with the girls teams, we saw a lot of groin injuries during the time of qualifications to key players that really kept them out. So basically at the youth level we need to start doing more prevention.”

Groin strains, as with all muscle tears, are graded 1, 2, or 3 depending on how bad they are. Grade one is a minor tear where less than 10 per cent of fibres are damaged.

Grade 2 is a moderate tear and can be anything from 10 to 90 per cent of fibres torn and Grade 3 injuries

are the most serious, being either partial or full ruptures.

“Clarke, the goalkeeper, has been struggling a lot since he got here. I injected him and Noel Johnson with Depo Medrol, which is a steroid injection and this morning they seem to be responding well to it, they are in less pain,” Dr O’Connor explained.

“The players that we have here are for the most part Grade 1; the goalkeeper might be a Grade 2, but what we planned on doing is rest, groin stretches and therapy,” Dr O’Connor stressed.

The injured players met with the Academy’s physiotherapist Augusto Riboldi and received ultrasound therapy to help them to come along at a faster pace.

Also, they were taken through an anthropometric test (measurement of different body parts) by physiologist Clovis Franciscon, a programme which was started in Jamaica a few weeks ago, said fitness trainer Andre Waugh.

“We’re here to develop a system where we monitor the players’ physical development and over the next few years, a paper trail. All these players have been given files so we can compare how they are developing,” Waugh pointed out.

He added: “We’re trying to improve the application of science in how we coach players and take it to another level”.

The young Boyz, still smarting from their two defeats to date, will play their Under-18 counterparts from the Desportivo Brasil academy today at 4:00 pm.

In their first match, Jamaica lost 3-2 to Saltense before crashing 4-0 to Uniao Sao Joao Araras and will be hoping to go one better.