Serena Barr’s possibilities of making the aircraft with the Eire girls’s hockey squad for the Olympic Video games in Tokyo subsequent summer time have been dealt a hammer blow as a result of a critical harm.
he Belfast Harlequins defender suffered a torn cruciate ligament in her knee within the closing phases of a membership pleasant with Lurgan on the weekend.
The harm would require surgical procedure, ruling her out for the rest of the home season which lasts till Could.
Cruciate accidents can take as much as 11 months to heal so Barr’s hopes of constructing the journey to Japan in July look decidedly slim with a prolonged rehab programme prone to comply with.
It is a bitter blow for the 25-year-old, who was a member of the squad that certified for a maiden Olympics with a dramatic shoot-out win over Canada in Dublin final November.
Barr, whose twin sister Bethany additionally performs her hockey with Quins and Eire, made her senior worldwide debut towards Chile in Santiago in January 2019 and has greater than 20 caps to her identify.
She would have had a combating probability of constructing the squad for Tokyo though competitors for locations might be fierce, no matter her harm woe, with simply 16 gamers making the reduce as an alternative of the standard 18, as a result of Worldwide Olympic Council laws.
Mockingly, Eire have not been in aggressive motion since final January as a result of Covid-19 pandemic however membership hockey has resumed and Barr suffered the harm in Harlequins’ pre-season build-up.
There may be nonetheless no signal of worldwide hockey returning so far as Eire are involved with journey restrictions nonetheless broadly in place however the membership season kicks off tomorrow with the beginning of the Irish Hockey League.
Barr is clearly dominated out of Harlequins’ opener towards Outdated Alex, nevertheless Pegasus welcome again ex-Eire midfielder Steph Thompson to league motion for the sport with Pembroke on the Dub. Thompson returned to the fray after maternity go away in final weekend’s 3-1 Irish Cup remaining defeat by UCD.
Within the males’s version, final season’s runaway leaders Lisnagarvey will defend an unbeaten file at nationwide degree stretching again to Could 2019 after they host Three Rock Rovers – the final facet to beat the Hillsborough outfit in league or cup.
Garvey’s spectacular stat seemed beneath critical risk after they trailed 2-1 to UCD with solely 12 minutes left of final Saturday’s Irish Cup remaining at Comber Street however they scored twice late on to win.
Defiant workforce captain James Corry stated: “Saturday wasn’t our greatest day and we definitely did not play to our potential so we have to enhance in sure areas after we face Three Rock.”
Banbridge, who had been second behind Garvey when the virus struck, will parade new striker David Finlay, who has joined from Kilkeel to exchange Irish worldwide Johnny McKee.
Annadale, who’ve misplaced striker Ryan Burgess to Bangor, are away to YMCA.
EYIHL fixtures: Males – Banbridge v Pembroke (2.45pm); Lisnagarvey v Three Rock Rovers (3pm); Monkstown v Corinthian; UCD v Glenanne; YMCA v Annadale (2pm); Girls – Belfast Harlequins v Outdated Alex (2.15pm); Catholic Institute v UCD; Loreto v Railway Union; Muckross v Cork Harlequins; Pegasus v Pembroke (4.15pm).
Belfast Telegraph
