THE IRELAND WOMEN’S hockey team will go into the European Championships without three of their star players, who have all suffered cruciate injuries.
Zoe Wilson along with twin sisters Serena and Bethany Barr are unavailable for selection for next week’s tournament in the Netherlands after being struck with the dreaded knee injury.
The trio, who played key roles in securing qualification for the Olympics, will also miss out on Ireland’s first-ever appearance at the Games in Tokyo later this summer.
All three featured in Ireland’s thrilling two-legged qualifier against Canada in Dublin two years ago. That contest was settled by a sudden death shootout at Energia Park, with Bethany Barr converting her effort to help her side edge out a dramatic win.
“It’s obviously a really tough injury,” Ireland head coach Sean Dancer explained to the media today after announcing his squad for the European Championships.
The 18-player panel features 12 of the 2018 World Cup silver medal-winning side and 13 of the team that won qualification to the Olympic Games.
“It is common in hockey and it is very common in female high performance sport. The unfortunate thing for us is that we’ve had three ACLs in 12 months.
“The big issue is [to] have identical twins that have had the same injury so from a personal point of view, the group has struggled and we do feel very disappointed for those girls in that situation now.”
Serena suffered her ACL tear back in September while Bethany’s injury took place “about a month ago” according to Dancer.
Wilson’s cruciate tear occurred in January while at a training camp in Spain.
The recovery time-frame from an ACL is typically around nine months, meaning that all three will miss Ireland’s two major upcoming tournaments.
Ireland are bidding for a first-ever semi-final spot at the eight-team European Championships, which will be held at Amstelveen’s Wagener Stadium.
They face world number one side the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup final on 5 June, followed by Scotland on 7 June and Spain on 9 June.
A top-three finish overall would secure qualification for Dancer’s side in the 2023 World Cup. Currently, Spain and the Netherlands are already pre-qualified as hosts but should either — or both — finish in the Euros medal positions, fourth or fifth place could provide qualification.
“It’s a real credit to our whole group to get to this point and have a really good balanced team,” Dancer said about Ireland’s long wait for competitive hockey.
“We have some really experienced players and it’s great to be able to rely on those guys, but I’m also really excited about the younger guys we’ve brought into the group. I’m looking forward to watching them play well at the Euros.”
Sean Dancer was speaking at the SoftCo & Park Developments Ireland Women’s Squad Announcement For The EuroHockey Championships In The Netherlands.
