He spent most of yesterday in bed or wandering lethargically around the team hotel, yet Khano Smith is expected to explode into life this evening when he dons the national colours and bears down on the USVI defence.

For ten consecutive games since returning to full fitness after a knee operation, the New England Revolution forward has been largely a spectator as his MLS team have gone about positioning themselves on the cusp of the play-offs.

Though he claims to be fully fit, the team?s success has meant that opportunities have been limited, with coach Steve Nicol proving reluctant to change what has by and large been a winning formula.

Barring injury, however, it is inconceivable that Smith will not start both games against USVI and the Dominican Republic and the former Dandy Town giant is straining at the leash to get out there.

?I need as much football as I can get,? he said.

?I?m perfectly capable of playing 90 minutes. It?s not that I?m unfit ? I think it?s just that the team has been doing well and I just have to stay patient and wait for my chance.

?I don?t know why I?ve not been playing more ? that?s a question for Steve Nicol.

?But I?m part of a big squad there and at the end of the day it?s all about what is best for the team and not me.

?As far as Bermuda is concerned, it?s good to be back in the national team fold and hopefully I?ll get two full games in this week and we can come away with two wins.?

Smith?s last competitive game for Bermuda came during the ill-fated Digicel Cup campaign in 2004, when he injured his right knee in the penultimate game and was forced to watch from the sidelines as Bermuda lost 2-0 to a British Virgin Islands side who, as it turned out, were fielding several ineligible players.

That crushing loss prevented Bermuda from going through to the next qualifying round, and though BVI have already dropped out this year, Smith is keen to ensure something like that never happens again.

?We were all disappointed with what happened,? he said.

?So we?re not taking these teams lightly at all, even though we should beat them. We?re not too concerned about how we win them either. It would be nice to score lots of goals but we?re more interested in six points and we?ll take a win however it comes.?

It took eight months for Smith to recover from the knee surgery he had in January, a long and tedious rehabilitation process requiring plenty of gym work and no little patience.

?You do what you have to do,? he said indifferently.

?Nobody enjoys the rehab but I was determined to get myself back up and running again as quickly as possible and that became my focus and a challenge in itself.

?It?s good to be back and I?m just hoping to play as much as I can.?

Once they had made themselves available for selection, the coaching staff of Kyle Lightbourne and Paul Scope knew straight away what their striking partnership would be, and Smith?s work with good friend John Barry Nusum is expected to cause severe problems to the opposition.

The Virginia Beach Mariners striker is rooming with Smith on this trip, and the latter is excited about what damage they could cause with their pace and ability in the air.

?We?ve been friends for years and we?re always on the phone to each other when we?re both in the States,? Smith said.

?We haven?t played that much together recently, but we went through the youth ranks together and have played on the same team many times and we know what we?re about.

?It will be good to have him up there with me and hopefully we form an effective partnership.?