ORLANDO, Florida – Reggae Boyz Head Coach Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore says it’s “just a matter of time” before the brilliance of Leon Bailey will come to the fore at the Concacaf Gold Cup. 

The Bayern Leverkusen winger, who is widely sought after by many big clubs around the world, is recovering from a toe injury that sidelined him towards the backend of the last Bundesliga season. 

In Jamaica’s opening Group C match of the Gold Cup on Monday, which the Boyz won 2-0, Bailey –

playing in a wide right midfield position – was obviously not at optimum fitness level, having not played any games for a spell due to his recovery period from the injury. 

“Leon has been out for some time now with a toe injury, and he just got back. The good news is that he has gone through the first game, and we don’t want to put him under excessive pressure. 

 “We know the quality of a Leon Bailey and we know what he can offer to the team, and it’s just a matter of time to see all those qualities come out,” Whitmore said. 

Bailey, 23, is expected to start Friday’s match against Guadeloupe, which kicks off at 6:30 pm (5:30 pm Jamaica time). 

Meanwhile, Whitmore is upbeat about the prospects of the match. 

“We are pretty much confident, and as I have always said, we will respect our opponents…I know it’s going to be a tough game, but I think the guys and the technical staff are upbeat about tomorrow [Friday],” he noted. 

Whitmore said while he will miss a valuable player due to a positive COVID-19 test result, he took comfort in the quality of the squad to find suitable replacements. 

“It’s an unfortunate situation [positive COVID-19 test] that we have to deal with, and we know we are in a pandemic time, so we have to be prepared to deal with these sorts of situations. “[But] we have 22 players at our disposal, so as much as we would love to have the player, I think we have capable replacements and we are looking forward to the game,” said the team’s chief tactician. 

Sean Williams