Reggae Boyz attacker Leon Bailey says he feels sharp after playing all 90 minutes of the team’s 1-1 draw in their World Cup Qualifier against El Salvador at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday.
The visitors took the lead in the 21st minute through an Eriq Zavaleta header off a corner before the Reggae Boyz equalized in the 72nd minute through Queens Park Rangers striker Andre Gray.
“I enjoyed the game today. I think the team enjoyed the game today and it was exciting for the fans. I thought we were brilliant in defense and attack but we didn’t take the chances,” Bailey said in an interview with SportsMax after the game.
“I felt good. Haven’t played 90 minutes in a long time. There’s much more room for improvement but I feel sharp, comfortable and ready to go,” he added.
A long time is right. The Aston Villa man hadn’t played the full 90 minutes of a game since a Premier League fixture against Southampton on November 5th.
He endured a long spell on the side-lines after suffering a muscle injury against Manchester City in December.
Jamaica have two more games in the span of five days and Bailey says he’s unsure how much of a part he’ll be able to play in those.
“I’m not sure what the plan is. I’ll speak to coach and see but, obviously, as I said, I haven’t played a full 90 minutes in a long time and having three games in such a short time, we’ll have to see how much minutes I’ll be able to play in the other two games or maybe I’ll just play one game. We don’t know,” he said.
The Reggae Boyz will next take on Canada on Sunday before ending their World Cup Qualifying campaign against Honduras at the National Stadium on March 30th.