The West Ham defender has been ruled out of this week’s tour of China and Thailand with a recurrence of a niggling injury he picked up in the English Premier League a week ago.
While he played in the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at the weekend, the injury requires on-going treatment and forced his withdrawal.
“First and foremost I want to express my disappointment that I cannot be involved in these upcoming games in China and Thailand,” Reid said on Monday.
“It was a decision that was made after the game since my injury that occurred the previous weekend away at Stoke.”
Reid said the decision was doubly difficult given his role as captain with a new situation in the All Whites camp.
“We are starting on a new cycle with a new environment, a new coach and new young players. For me to be able to captain the team and country is a very big honour and responsibility that I intend to live up to.”
The 26-year-old star is right behind the direction coach Anthony Hudson is taking the All Whites.
“I respect the environment that we are trying to build with the national team, a winning environment and this requires a 100 per cent dedication on and off the pitch.
“I look forward to following the team in these upcoming games and even more to take part again in March.”
Hudson said Reid’s loss will be felt, as the New Zealand-based players and management flew out of Auckland this morning.
“Winston is a big loss. He’s a top footballer, a top captain and a good man,” Hudson said.
“Hopefully he has a quick recovery and we look forward to him being back with us in our next games.”
The star defender has been replaced by another young prospect in Auckland’s New Zealand U-20 representative Adam Mitchell.
The 18-year-old Central United defender, who plays for Wanderers SC in the ASB Premiership, has experience in playing in China, as part of the successful national U-20 campaign there earlier this year.
“This is an opportunity for another very promising player,” said Hudson. “Adam is someone who impressed me since I saw him in Doha. He’s got a great future ahead of him and won’t be out of place with this step up.”
Two weeks ago Hudson released his vision for the future for the All Whites towards their goal of qualification for the World Cup.
A key component is an integrated style of play from the U-17s to the All Whites and to maximise contact time with All Whites players.
Hudson says selections for the tour reflect that intent with replacements Mitchell and Deklan Wynne bringing the number of players from this year’s New Zealand Under-20s to six while several others are eligible for the Olympic Under-23 squad.
“By working with our Under-20 and Olympic age players and giving them more experience in the All Whites environment, we will maximize our contact time with the All Whites over the next cycle,” Hudson said.
“We’ve outlined a vision to help us qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the selections for this tour have been tied directly to that approach, both in the initial squad named and with the players we’ve had to bring in,” he said.
The All Whites will group in Nanchang from around the globe today to begin preparations for the international against China on Saturday and Thailand on 19 November (both games NZ time).
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz

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