support to Bermuda's team in this weekend's Shell Caribbean Cup.

The Manchester City striker instead will remain in England for X-rays on his dislocated shoulder, suffered when he landed awkwardly after scoring his team's fourth goal in their 5-2 away win over Kyle Lightbourne's Stoke City on Sunday.

"I thought I was supposed to see a specialist today but now I'll see him tomorrow,'' said Goater yesterday when contacted at Lightbourne's home.

"I'm disappointed, I would have liked to have been around the guys. I feel a bit down from getting relegated and I needed to be cheered up again and the Bermuda boys would have done that.'' Meanwhile, Lightbourne said yesterday he is looking forward to returning to the Bermuda national team for the first time in six years.

"I'm disappointed Shawn's not going to be able to make it. It would be a good change for both of us to get away from the English scene for a while and see some of the players from home,'' he said.

"It brings you back down to earth, so I'll be looking forward to it in that sense.'' Despite the win, Manchester City were relegated to the English Second Division along with Stoke and Reading.

The injury was Goater's second of the season and the fourth in the last three years. While at Rotherham he had a cartilage injury which kept him out for four weeks. Last season he missed two weeks with a broken jaw and later played with a brace. At the beginning of this season he damaged his ribs and missed four weeks.

"If I have to get injured I would rather it be at the end of the season than during the season,'' said Goater who will take a holiday to Portugal before returning to Bermuda for about a month prior to pre-season training in early July.

Even in hindsight Goater has no regrets about choosing Manchester City when Bristol City sold him on transfer deadline day.

His old club went on to gain promotion to the English First Division while Manchester City crashed into the Second Division for the first time in their history.

"I have no regrets,'' said Goater. "Even if Manchester City were in the Second Division already I would have gone there. "It's a bigger challenge and I'm playing in front of twice the crowd than at Bristol City and obviously it means that the expectations are a lot higher.'' Although manager Joe Royle has hinted at some changes being made for next season, Goater has pledged his immediate future to the club.

"Even after they off-load they will bring players in when they see fit to make sure we are in the top six. They will buy their way back up if need be.'' Until he hears differently, Goater is preparing himself for another season in the Second Division.

"I'll stay here, enjoy my football, score some more goals and make a name for myself at Man. City,'' the Bermudian pledged.

"I've got to look on the bright side of things. I know what I'm capable of doing in Division Two.'' Lightbourne, too, is preparing himself for the drop back into the Second Division. "That's part of the breaks, I just have to get on with it,'' said Lightbourne as he prepared to join the Bermuda team in the Cayman Islands.

"It (Stoke) is a big club but we had a hard job trying to keep the team up.

The damage was done in the first half of the season. At one stage we were third in the table but when I arrived they had played 20 games without a win.'' The man who signed Lightbourne, Chris Kamara, resigned weeks later after only 14 games in charge and Alan Durban took over until the end of the season.

Lightbourne expects a new manager will soon be appointed.

"I don't think whoever comes in will be able to make wholesale changes, most of the players here are on long contracts,'' said Lightbourne who has three years remaining on his contract.

"I don't know my own position. As far as I know I'm under contract for the next three years. I'll just have to wait and see. I understand there will be one or two players leaving but I'm sure they will bring in some new players as well.''