Hockey: Injured midfielders given recovery time before Games

Losing key midfielders Kayla Sharland and Ella Gunson will further test the depth of New Zealand women's hockey at next month's Champions Trophy in Nottingham.

Coach Mark Hager is resigned to playing the tournament without the pair in the hope they will be fit for the more important World Cup and Commonwealth Games tournaments later in the year.

"Kayla is just back from playing club hockey in Europe but is still troubled by her hamstring injury which curtailed her season over there," said Hager. "She is only at about 75 per cent and it is definitely not worth risking her at this stage given what is coming up.

"She is only 24 and she still has a lot of hockey to play so we don't want her breaking down."

Sharland (106 caps) would have given the team much needed experience in a squad which boasts only Emily Naylor (123) and Stacey Carr (105) as centurions.

Gunson, who broke her foot while water-skiing last summer, has not recovered fully but Hager is confident the 20-year-old Northlander, who has won 18 caps, will be in contention for the later assignments.

Hager has called Samantha Charlton and Jas McQuinn into the squad for the Four Nations in the Netherlands. They will return after that warm-up tournament with Kate Mahon, who misses the June 29-July 4 , joining the team in Nottingham.

Carr, returning after a serious knee injury which has sidelined her since September, was originally scheduled to head home after the Four Nations but will now stay and play the Champions Trophy.

Hager is already in Europe "having a wee peek over the fence" at another Four Nation tournament in Germany.

"Three of the teams, Australia, Germany and India are in our pool at the World Cup so it is a chance to have a look at them," said Hager. Of that trio only Germany have qualified for the six-team Championships Trophy."

While Hager has some hopes for his team, his feet, as usual, remain firmly on the ground.

"We have set our goals - the top five at the Champions Trophy, top eight at the World Cup and a medal at the Commonwealth Games - but we are still a fairly young, inexperienced team so it will not be easy."

The players face a hectic schedule.

Sharland, Naylor, Forgesson and Katie Glynn have just returned from Europe where they played key roles in helping their club stave off the threat of relegation. Gemma Flynn has remained in Europe and will join the Black Sticks in the Netherlands.

After the Champions Trophy the team will have a month at home before heading to Argentina for the World Cup. They will then have just 10 days in New Zealand before heading to India for the Commonwealth Games.

With just 16 players to play at the Games, Hager will have to trim his 18-strong squad when he names the team for New Delhi after the Champions Trophy.

FOUR NATIONS

(Netherlands)

June 29: v Argentina

July 1: v China

July 3: v Netherlands

July 4: Play-offs

CHAMPIONS TROPHY

(Nottingham)

July 10: v Netherlands

July 11: v China

July 13: v Argentina

July 15: v Germany

July 17: v England

July 18: Play-offs

BLACK STICKS

Goalkeepers: Beth Jurgeleit, Bianca Russell.

Defenders: Emily Naylor, Clarissa Eshuis, Natasha Fitzsimons, Lucy Talbot, Kate Mahon (Champions Trophy only).

Midfielders: Sam Harrison, Gemma Flynn, Anna Thorpe, Stacey Michelsen, Laura Douglas, Anita Punt, Jasmin McQuinn (Four-Nations only), Samantha Charlton (Four-Nations only), Stacey Carr.

Strikers: Krystal Forgesson, Katie Glynn, Piki Hamahona, Charlotte Harrison.