Bermuda will be without the services of key player Nahki Wells for the crucial Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary round games against Honduras this month.

The former national captain has made himself unavailable for the two-leg play-off to concentrate on helping Bristol City push for promotion and potentially earn himself a new contract at the Sky Bet Championship club.

“I have decided against returning and playing as I have a lot of uncertainty over my future,” Wells, 34, said.

“I am out of contract in the summer and those two additional games put me at risk. We also have such an important end to the season and we don’t have a big squad. I know I have a really big part to play and I just want to put all my energy and efforts towards that.

“Obviously, it was never an easy decision but everything aligned for it to be the right thing for myself to rest up, recover, heal up and be ready to hit the ground running after the international break. The minor injury [groin strain] was just the nail in the coffin to show me that I’ll probably need that period to rest.

“The Championship is a gruelling season and although you get a mental rest from games during an international break, you’re obviously still training, so it gives us a chance to come together with those not going away. We can put in a really good week and a half of training and prepare for Burnley, which is our first fixture after the international break and is obviously going to be a tough one. That’s where I stand and how I am looking to go about things over the next few weeks.”

Wells has informed Bermuda head coach Michael Findlay of his decision and will be watching the upcoming games from England in the hope that the island can cause a major upset against Honduras

“I had a really good chat with the manager, Michael Findlay, and he understands and we’ll just leave it at that,” Wells said.

“Hopefully the team can go and do a really good job, potentially upset a huge nation and we can get to the Gold Cup, which would be another great achievement.”

The Gombey Warriors, who finished second to Dominican Republic in their Nations League group, have a tough assignment against Honduras, with the home leg taking place next Friday. The winner of the tie will secure their spot at the Gold Cup, which will be hosted by Canada and the United States in June.

Wells marked his return from injury by coming off the bench in City’s 1-1 league draw away to Sheffield United on Tuesday night.

“I was happy to be back in the squad and happy to be back on the pitch in a really important game for us,” he said.

“After missing a couple games through a minor groin strain, I was just happy to be back out there.

“I probably could have been available against Hull City but the manager [Liam Manning] just played it safe and gave it a few more days going into this hectic period of fixtures, so that I don’t aggravate it and it keeps me available for selection going into Friday night at home to Norwich City.

“It’s been a disappointing month as prior to injury, I came off the bench in three or four games. I am just chomping at the bit to get back out there, get back on the scoresheet, start some more games and pick up some wins.

“It’s always disappointing when you miss out or you have an injury. I have been very fortunate in my career to not have many of these situations, so it’s actually more difficult for me because it’s strange to be unavailable through injury.

“But it’s just something you have to take and thankfully it was a strain instead of a significant injury, so I’ve been fortunate in that regard and I’m looking to play a bigger part on Friday night and go into the international break in a really good place.”

City are seventh in the league standings, just two points adrift of the final play-off spot and Wells is hopeful of a bright end to the season.

“We’re doing well at the moment and we’re in a great position,” Wells said.

“We’re staying present and taking one game at a time but we know what our end-of-season objectives are, and that’s to give ourselves every chance to get in that top six, so last night’s result was a huge step in that direction.

“Last Saturday’s [1-1 draw with Hull City] was a bit more frustrating and playing against ten men for 75 minutes but not winning feels like a loss. It’s still a point and as long as we continue to pick up points it gives ourselves every chance of getting to where we want to be come the end of the season.”