Ryan Nelsen fears a groin injury may force him to put club before country and miss next month's All Whites-Socceroos soccer match in London.
The Dominion Post reported today that the Blackburn Rovers defender is desperate to captain New Zealand in the June 9 friendly at Fulham's Craven Cottage but
says he is "in a bit of trouble" with the groin strain.
Nelsen played the final fortnight of Blackburn's English premier league campaign hampered by the injury.
The 27-year-old Cantabrian insists he wants to play in the All Whites' first international in a year but knows he will be expected to follow the advice of Blackburn's medical staff.
A specialist was to assess the injury overnight.
"It's a bit of a kick in the pants," Nelsen said from Manchester yesterday.
"Obviously I'd love to be playing, but it's tough because I don't want to be going into another premiership season with something I should have rested."
Nelsen's predicament is a nightmare All Whites coach Ricki Herbert could have done without a fortnight before his squad assembles in London.
With just four days to prepare his first national team, Herbert was already on a hiding to nothing against Frank Farina's full-strength, Confederations Cup-bound Socceroos without facing the prospect of losing his inspirational captain.
"Hopefully, it'll settle down in the next couple of weeks, but I know Blackburn have said I just need a rest. I've been going 18 months straight and they don't see this game as important at all... it's just a friendly, which I don't think they'd look on very favourably."
With Nelsen in the process of negotiating a new three-year deal at Ewood Park, he is understandably reluctant to push his luck, even though Blackburn manager Mark Hughes was recently quoted as saying: "Ryan's proved himself at this level and we look forward to rewarding him accordingly."
The New Zealander, named yesterday by the London-based Press Association as one of the two bargain buys of the season and in a mock premiership second 11, said he hoped to put pen to paper "soon".
"They're still going through it at the moment. In all honesty they've throw out a proposal and my adviser has thrown out a proposal and now they're literally battling through them to find common ground."
- NZPA
Ryan Nelsen fears a groin injury may force him to put club before country and miss next month's All Whites-Socceroos soccer match in London.
The Dominion Post reported today that the Blackburn Rovers defender is desperate to captain New Zealand in the June 9 friendly at Fulham's Craven Cottage but
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