National cyclist Njisane Phillip will continue training soon, as he is expected to be discharged from hospital today, according to Gregory D'Andrade, vice-president of the T&T Cycling Federation.Njisane, who was admitted to the California Hospital Medical Center in USA on Friday for stomach pains, and then later moved to a specialist hospital, spoke to D'Andrade yesterday on the phone. It was confirmed that one of Njisane's kidneys are swollen, but with antibiotics, the swelling will go down and the cyclist will be ready for the track soon.
Njisane did not eat properly for the past few days and has been receiving drips after suffering from dehydration. Njisane's mother, Vere Whiteman, and stepfather Phillip Whiteman, arrived in California yesterday to support their son.
D'Andrade, who was Njisane's manager at the UCI Cycling World Cup leg one in England last November, said the cyclist was in a good mood.He stated: "He is talking and in good spirits and should be discharged tomorrow (today)."As a result of this incident, Njisane will not compete at the third leg of the UCI Cycling World Cup, which pedals off on January 17 in Mexico.
However, Njisane's fans will see him on the track at the UCI World Track Cycling Championships in Colombia from February 26 - March 2.Some of Njisane's fellow athletes have been tweeting their support including world champion 400 metres hurdler Jehue Gordon who has encouraged people to keep the cyclist in their prayers.Last year, Phillip became the first T&T cyclist to win a medal in the UCI (International Cycling Union) World Cup series capturing silver in the match sprint event in Manchester.He followed up with a new national and Pan American record of 9.643 seconds in the Flying 200m which is the qualifying event for the match sprint at the Aguascalientes leg of the World Cup in Mexico last December.