André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Jermaine Hue and his team are now weighing their options as the reality of a nine-month ban from football sinks in, but one thing is certain; the 35-year-old Jamaica and Harbour View midfielder is not ready to call time on his career.

Hue was on Thursday suspended by the FIFA Disciplinary Panel until May 6, 2014, after the banned substance dexamethasone was found in his system, after Jamaica's World Cup Qualifier against Honduras in Tegucigalpa on June 11. FIFA also announced that Jamaica's team doctor Carlton Fraser was suspended for four years by the panel for administering the substance.

If the suspension holds up, Hue, who has played 42 matches for the Reggae Boyz since 2002, will return just ahead of his 36th birthday.

No retirement

However, the midfielder's uncle and manager, Michael Hue, is certain that retirement is not an option for the former Kansas City Wizards and Mjallby player, even as they move to examine whether or not they are in a position to appeal the suspension.

"Knowing him (Jermaine), he has been through a lot of trying times even in terms of representing his country, we all know the ordeals but he has a strong mindset," Michael Hue said.

"I don't think he would find it too difficult to not play football for a year and come back because his style is not based so much on a physical type of play, his play is centred around skill, technique and a good passing game and he won't lose that technical ability," he added.

Hue is said to be shocked and devastated by the news, which came to him while he trained on Thursday, in the hope that he would soon return to the football field.

"He is shocked and devastated," Michael Hue added. "He is very disappointed in the nine-month ban. It will take time for him to come back to his normal self but there is a strong family support."

"We are going to look at the transcript in terms of what FIFA has said and see what can be done as it relates to an appeal. We will be sitting with the lawyers and the executive of Harbour View Football Club to see what's the process in terms of an appeal," Michael Hue added.