ATLANTA, Georgia – Injured Jamaica defenders Jermaine Taylor and Demar Phillips have returned to their respective clubs to continue treatment, effectively ending their CONCACAF Gold Cup journey.

Phillips parted with ways with his Reggae Boyz compatriots in Baltimore for Utah on Saturday afternoon, while Taylor flew with the team to Atlanta where he made connections to Houston, Texas.

Phillips, who sustained what was initially thought to me a mild hamstring injury in a game for his MLS club Real Salt Lake prior to joining the Boyz in Los Angeles, told OBSERVER ONLINE that he will begin treatment immediately on arriving in the western US state.

“I am going in for treatment with the doctor and the physio so they can check and see what the major problem is… I know it’s a hamstring injury,” said Phillips, prior to leaving the team’s hotel in Baltimore on Saturday.

Taylor, who plays for the Houston Dynamo, also in the MLS, sustained a serious quadriceps injury in the Boyz’s 1-0 Group B CONCACAF Gold Cup game in Toronto last Tuesday. He had said then that his injury could keep him out of action for “between six and eight weeks”.

Head Coach Winfried Schaefer had moved quickly to head off any fall-out by the injuries to the key players by summoning the Under-23 pair of Omar Holness and Sean McFarlene.

The high-flying Jamaicans will face USA in the semi-finals of the sub-continental tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Wednesday. In the other semi-final match-up of a double-header, Mexico will take on Panama.

Sean Williams