Bristol City striker considering retirement as he rules himself out of next match

Bristol City striker Nahki Wells is considering stepping back from international duty for the Bermuda national team.

The 32-year-old is returning back to Britain early, and will not be involved in Bermuda's clash with Haiti, which is scheduled to take place at 11.00 pm UK time tomorrow evening. It is a 6666-mile round-trip from Bristol to Bermuda and back, and additional travel to Haiti, will have taken its toll on the forward ahead of the return of the Championship this Saturday, with a home match against Reading.

Before taking to the field for Bermuda last week, Wells had opened up on how he was considering stepping back from the national team. He has yet to make a decision, but will return earlier than expected to the High Performance Centre, and could link up with his club teammates sooner in preparation for their match with the Royals.

“I won’t be travelling with the team to play against Haiti, so I wish the boys well in that fixture,” he said in an interview with Bermudan outlet the Royal Gazette.

“I’ll be reassessing things as time goes on but I don’t think I have a definitive answer right now on my future.

“I’m just looking to perhaps step back from international football for a little while and just see where it takes me. There is no official retirement as yet, but I also can’t promise I will playing again.

“My thought process right now is that if there is a really important game and the team really need me then perhaps I’ll be available. My focus is really on the final stages of my career and making sure I do what is best for my family."

Wells played in Bermuda's first of two games over the break - a 2-0 defeat to Guyana in the CONCACAF Nations League. It left them third out of four teams, and now they are nine points off of leaders Haiti, five off of their next opponents and just one above Montserrat.

The former Huddersfield Town forward was swamped for autographs and photos by young supporters of Bermuda in a video he shared on social media. He has been involved with the senior national team since 2007 and has scored 16 goals in 24 matches for his country.

Travelling long distances however can take its toll on players like Wells, whilst he is not considering official retirement, stepping back from internationals could save Wells for his club matches. He signed a new contract before the turn of the New Year, keeping him at Ashton Gate until the summer of 2025.

He added: “I love international football but you have to weigh everything up and what really matters is prolonging my career for as long as possible and making sure I’m at my very best and perform as well as I can.

“Who knows what the future may hold, this may end up being my last game, it may not, like I said I don’t have a definitive answer on anything like my official retirement.”