Last season's MVP Keith Jennings and Somerset Trojans' Stephen Astwood are both set to return to the senior national football team, national coach Kyle Lightbourne revealed yesterday.

Lightbourne has been busy preparing the national team for September's Digicel Cup in the Dominican Republic, and next week's friendly against visiting Southend United at the National Sports Centre will provide the home team with another opportunity to gauge themselves against quality opposition.

Lightbourne, however, will not be present to witness the June 30 match at the Sports Centre as he is due to depart for the World Cup in Germany the same day, leaving assistant Paul Scope to coach the team in his absence.

The former Coventry City striker has yet to agree to Bermuda Football Association technical committee's new short-term coaching contract that expires at the conclusion of September's Digicel Cup in the Caribbean.

Lightbourne succeeded Kenny Thompson for the top post in September of 2004, months after Bermuda were dumped out of the World Cup qualifiers, and narrowly missed coaching the Island through to the second round of the 2004 Digicel Cup in St.Vincent on his first international assignment.

Meanwhile, Devonshire Cougars' full back Darius Cox has also been recalled to the senior programme, but North Village's irrepressible striker, Keishen Bean, has surprisingly been left out of the squad for fear of risking injury.

Bean is captain of Bermuda's Under-20 national squad that is due to begin qualifying for the Under-20 World Cup later this summer.

"I want Keishen (Bean) to be healthy for the Under-20 World Cup, and so I am not going to risk having him get injured," Lightbourne told The Royal Gazette.

While Lightbourne admitted Bean's services and lethal finishing would be missed, he believes Jennings and Village team-mate Tyrell Burgess and Astwood are capable of coming into the team and getting the job done.

Lightbourne, however, was reluctant to reveal his starting XI yesterday.

Southend are due to arrive in Bermuda next Wednesday.