RailHawk might head to Grenada

CARY -- Carolina RailHawks forward Kithson Bain is expected to be called up to the Grenada men's national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, making him only the second active international player in the RailHawks' five-year history.

Bain, who signed with the RailHawks this offseason, has yet to play for Carolina because of a leg injury. He has made 33 career appearances for Grenada and scored five goals in eight games for Grenada at the Caribbean Championship this winter. Grenada finished fourth, becoming the smallest nation ever to qualify for the Gold Cup.

"He's a quality player," RailHawks coach Martin Rennie said. "He's just been unfortunate with injury. He pulled his quad right after he got here and he's not healthy yet. But he's very similar type of player to (RailHawks leading scorer) Etienne (Barbara) - very strong, very fast, a very good finisher."

The RailHawks have had a number of former international players - at the moment, that includes Etienne Barbara (Malta), John Krause and Kupono Low (Puerto Rico), Chris Nurse (Guyana) and Stephen Glass (Scotland) - but Bain will be the first to play for his national team while on the RailHawks' roster since Low made three appearances for Puerto Rico in 2008.

An official announcement is expected later this week. Efforts to reach the Grenada FA for confirmation were unsuccessful. In Gold Cup group play, Grenada will play Jamaica in Carson, Calif., on June 6; Honduras in Miami on June 10; and Guatemala in Harrison, N.J., on June 13.

The United States plays Canada in Detroit on June 7, Panama in Tampa, Fla., on June 11 and Guadeloupe in Kansas City on June 14. The quarterfinals are June 18-19, the semifinals June 22 and the final June 25.