Devonshire Cougars captain and sparkplug Kwame Steede will undergo a fitness test ahead of tomorrow's Premier's Dudley Eve Cup final showdown with North Village at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

Steede appeared to strain his left ankle after making contact with Zebras' 'keeper Raymon Glasford in yesterday's semi-final at the NSC. And the uncertain extent of his injury has already raised fears in the Cougars camp ahead of tomorrow's high stakes cup clash with the menacing Rams who edged the Big Cats 2-1 on Boxing Day to advance to the final.

Steede hobbled on courageously but was eventually replaced at the half as a precautionary measure.

Cougars coach Shawn Smith opted not to speak at length about his skipper's injury scare after the final whistle had blown. But the tone of his voice and concerned look on his face spoke volumes instead.

"Kwame (Steede) has struggled with injuries in the past and mentally I know he is ready to play. He is a strong character and hopefully he can bounce back in time for the final," he said, trying best to shed a positive spin on the matter.

Steede, however, is only the beginning of Smith's worries as the influential Domico Coddington, forward Kor-Von Tucker, midfielder Omar Butterfield and defender Kijuan Franks are also among the walking wounded.

Butterfield was stretchered off yesterday after twisting his right knee, Tucker came off worse in a tackle while Coddington and Franks also came in for some harsh treatment from the aggressive Zebras.

But Cougars have 24 hours to recover with Smith cautiously optimistic his squad can shake off any injuries or fatigue having had to take the longer route this time around to the reach the final.

He added: "We picked up a few injuries and so it will be interesting to see what type of squad we can put together for the final. I think it's unfortunate we have a few niggling injuries ahead of the final. But hopefully we can recover in the next 24 hours."

Tomorrow's Dudley Eve final will be a repeat of the 2005-06 final, which saw Cougars emerged triumphantly against the Red Army, and the fourth time the two clubs have met in a cup final in the past six years.