Gardner

Jamaica international Ricardo Gardner has once again been bitten by the injury bug, this time a torn hamstring that could see the Reggae Boy miss the start of the season for English Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers.

Gardner, now 28, had to be stretchered off the pitch after picking up an injury in a 1-1 draw with Seongnam Ilhwa at the Peace Cup in Seoul Korea last Thursday.

An MRI scan done late last week revealed the injury to be worse than initially thought and the player could now miss up to six weeks.

"The results of the scan reveal he has a grade-one tear of his hamstring, which is a great shame for Ricardo," Bolton manager Sammy Lee told the club's website.

"The incident could have happened at any time to any player, it was very unfortunate. His recovery process will start immediately and will continue when we return to Bolton next week," he went on.

Tough time

The injury is a tough one for Gardner who missed most of last season after undergoing knee surgery in June of last year. The Jamaican, capable of playing either at the left-back position or left midfield, managed only 16 appearances after returning to duty in December.

Up until the time of the surgery, Gardner, who signed for Bolton after Jamaica's historic appearance in the 1998 World Cup Finals in France, held a regular starting spot in the squad, including securing Player of the Round honours for Bolton in the fourth round of the 2006 FA Cup.

However, since making his return in December, the player who captained both the Bolton and the national squad on occasions has struggled with match fitness issues and has had to battle for a spot in the English Premier League first team.