Gould’s heartbreak

THE bid Filipino British player and Cebu’s very own Chad Gould to reunite with the Philippine Azkals has hit a major snag.

Gould suffered an infected wound caused by a mosquito bite on his left leg last Monday and had to undergo surgery to remove the infection.


“It’s kind of annoying. It’s quite big and pretty bad,” Gould said.


He took antibiotics immediately when he noticed the mosquito bite slowly getting infected. The medication didn’t work and the condition got worse.

As advised by the doctors, Gould underwent surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital last Thursday to remove the infection on his left leg.


Gould’s recovery period will last from two to three weeks and requires him to be in full rest from strenuous activities. Because of that, he had to leave the three-week training camp of the Azkals and return to Cebu.


The coaching staff of the team also told the former Azkal to focus on recovering first as it will be dangerous if he’ll continue.

However, there is no final say yet from the team whether he would be missing the home-and-away match for the World Cup qualifiers against Sri Lanka but the Fil-Britton said he would love to rejoin the squad.


“It’s my dream to play for the World Cup. I want this more than anything but it’s quite a dangerous injury,” Gould said.


Gould had given up the chance to play with the England National Beach Soccer team to be reunited with the Azkals.

He arrived in the Philippines last May 8 to try out for the national team along with five other hopefuls from Australia and America.


Chad is staying in Boljoon, Cebu and spending time with his parents. He will reschedule his flight back to London Thursday next week, cutting what was supposed to be a three-month stay here in the Philippines.

He will be meeting the team next week when the Azkals are in Cebu for a series of activities.

Gould was a member of the Philippine team, along with Chris Greatwich, that played in the 2004 Tiger Cup, when the Philippines earned its first win in international football, 2-1, against Timor Leste. Gould, who has six goals in 11 caps, also played in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, where the Philippines also had its first SEAG win since 1991.


Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on May 22, 2011.