Janeiro Tucker's soccer season is over.

But the Southampton Rangers' two-sport star insists his gimpy right ankle won't prevent him from joining the Bermuda cricket squad's upcoming tour of Malaysia.

Tucker, 21, faces a trip to the doctor this week for a third opinion on the tender ankle ligaments that have kept him out of the Rangers' line-up for the past month. But no matter what the prognosis, he won't be testing it out on any First Division pitch until next season.

"I'm just going to stay off it and get ready for cricket,'' the dangerous striker said.

And if surgery is necessary, Tucker said he would postpone it until after the ICC Trophy cricket tournament in February.

The squad going to Malaysia has yet to be selected but Tucker, an all-rounder with Rangers during the cricket season, was on the Bermuda team that competed in the recent Shell/Sandals tournament in Guyana and is confident of being selected again.

Tucker originally injured the ankle a year ago. But he played through both the soccer and cricket seasons and then reinjured it on the last of several hard tackles he took during an October 29 loss to Boulevard in the Friendship Trophy.

"That's what really did it,'' he said.

Tucker hasn't played since and "now it seems like it's gotten worse,'' he added.

Days after the game, Tucker joined several other Island players in calling for referees and the BFA to do a better job of protecting the game's stars.

Last week he came to the conclusion that he didn't want to risk a more permanent injury that could rule him out of the ICC Trophy.

"(The injured ankle) doesn't affect cricket as much,'' he said.

"I can run on it and kick on it but I can't take the quick turns and stops like in soccer.'' He is currently undergoing physiotherapy but said the ankle was still only "60 or 70 percent'' of normal strength.

While Tucker promises he will be back for the 1997-98 season, that's of little consolation to Rangers hopes for this year. They are in second place after their 1-0 victory over PHC on Sunday.

"It's a big miss,'' said Tucker's partner up front, Ascento Russell.

"It puts more pressure on me. The team will be looking to me to score and the other teams will be watching me a lot closer. I'll just have to wait for the chances and bury them.''