In the last few days, a sensational story in the field hockey world crossed my desk.
Last Wednesday, it was announced that two-time Australia men’s Olympic field hockey player Matthew Dawson was having part of his ring finger amputated so that he could play at the Paris Olympics.
Dawson, a back, had broken the finger during pre-Olympic play and wanted to return to player more quickly than the two to six weeks it would have taken for the broken bone to fully heal.
I’ve seen numerous similar situations in American sport in the past, including field hockey. A couple of years ago, North Carolina forward Erin Matson had to have part of her pinky finger amputated after it had gotten caught between two sticks, crushing the bone inside.
Still, she didn’t let the injury deter her from winning three Honda Player of the Year awards, four national titles as a player, and one as a head coach. She is still picking up the stick occasionally, playing for the U.S. national indoor team in the qualification tournament for the next FIH indoor World Cup.
I will be interested to see how well Dawson does for the Kookaburras later this week.
