OTTAWA — The most serious of three soldiers wounded in an Afghan suicide attack is not recovering as well as doctors had hoped and will likely have to remain in Germany while the other two return to Canada.

Saturday was not a good day for any of the soldiers, their Canadian doctor said, but it was Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey for whom he had the most concern.

Bailey, from Edmonton, remained in a coma with paralysis - both medically induced - while swelling in his bruised brain continued to concern medical staff at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

"Unfortunately, Cpl. Bailey is not recovering as well as we'd like to see," Maj. Nick Withers said in an interview from Germany. "His ability to return with the others on Tuesday is certainly in jeopardy.

"The pressures are just not coming down as we would like."

A CT scan indicated bleeding inside Bailey's skull was abating, but doctors found that the swelling increased whenever they tried to move him.

"We need to try to keep him from being moved or jostled or anything to try to keep his pressures at a good rate so we can optimize his recovery."

Bailey was also fighting a fever and infection, likely related to the tubes and lines plugged into his body, Withers said. He was on antibiotics.

Bailey, Pte. William Salikin of Grand Forks, B.C., and Master Cpl. Paul Franklin, a Halifax native who lost a leg, were wounded in a car-bomb attack near Kandahar that killed a senior Canadian diplomat, Glyn Berry.

Berry's funeral with military honours is scheduled for next Thursday in St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London. A reception will follow at Canada House.

Bailey's mother, Pattie Wolfram, issued a statement Saturday, saying she is "proud to be a Canadian."

"My circumstances at the moment are incredibly difficult," she said. "My son . . . was critically injured. The Canadian military through this whole thing have been incredibly gracious, generous, kind and concerned.

"I'm very grateful for everything."

A specialized Canadian medical team was scheduled to arrive in Landstuhl on Sunday and would decide by Monday how to proceed with repatriating the wounded. They may wait until Bailey is ready to move or take him back separately later on.

Withers, one of two Canadian military doctors posted in Europe, again emphasized the excellent physical condition of all three wounded, saying it bodes well for their recoveries - even Bailey with his massive head wounds.

"He's certainly not a frail boy; he's a big, big lad who was obviously very, very aggressive in the weight room prior to his injury," Withers said as he drove to Landstuhl from his clinic three hours away.

"All of that combined with his young age is a wonderful thing to have. It gives you that extra capacity, the extra reserve that we don't have when we deal with elderly patients who are ill."

Salikin also suffered head injuries and has remained in a medically induced coma since the attack.

Doctors had begun easing him off the medication and, while he was responding well to commands and opening his eyes briefly on Friday, Withers said he wasn't coming around like expected Saturday.

"He hasn't changed a lot in the last 24 hours," Withers said. "Certainly we'd like to see him waking up a little more.

"It means the brain injury is still fairly serious and it needs a little more recovery time."

The recovery process for all three soldiers will have its ups and down, he emphasized, repeating his axiom: "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon."

Franklin lost his left leg just above the knee. Doctors remained concerned for his badly shattered right leg. He was back in surgery on Saturday for routine cleaning of his wounds.

"We're going to be looking at a long battle ahead," Withers said. "It's going to mean an attempt to preserve the right leg.

"Some think his limb is still compromised. Right now, it is our intention to get him home and have that evaluated. It may declare itself sooner . . . but we'll have to wait and see."