Sport

Nodley Wright, Gleaner Writer

Just under two weeks after sustaining serious head injuries in a motor-vehicle accident, young Reggae Boy André Darby is making slow but steady progress.

According to a member of the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) medical committee, there is improvement but he "still has a little way to go".

"There was swelling of the brain so we had to sedate him. He has facial bone fractures and there was some amount of brain damage," the doctor said of the player who captained Jamaica in their failed attempt to qualify for the 2009 Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.

"As his consciousness improves we will know more about the kind of recovery he will make but he will be there for a little while. He did have a serious head injury," he said of Darby who is a patient at the intensive care unit of the University Hospital of the West Indies.

As a part of the 21-year-old's recovery he will have to undergo some form of medical rehabilitation the doctor also revealed.

Darby, a cultured defender who has also earned invitations to the Reggae Boyz squad would have been in camp at the time of the accident had he not had a calf injury. The Naggo Head native represented Waterford High School where he stood out in the Manning and Walker Cup competitions.

At the club level, he distinguished himself for his hometown team, Naggo Head before making the short trip to Portmore United where he has featured in the Digicel Premier League.