World Cup silver medallist Zoe Wilson is set to miss the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a serious knee injury during January’s training trip to Spain.
The 24-year-old damaged her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the final game against their hosts in Murcia.
Hockey Ireland confirmed on Wednesday that Wilson has undergone surgery and her recovery is “progressing well”.
However, with the rescheduled Olympics less than five months away, Wilson is unlikely to have recovered in time.
She is also set to miss the EuroHockey Championships in Amsterdam at the beginning of June, for which Ireland’s 18-player squad will be named in May.
The former Ballyclare High School pupil has been an ever-present in the Ireland squad since making her debut at the start of 2016 and has been capped 103 times.
She was an integral part of the Ireland team that shocked the hockey world by making it to the World Cup final in 2018. She also played in the Tokyo qualifiers a year later helping Ireland beat Canada to reach their first Olympics.
Wilson joins fellow Ulster player Serena Barr on the sidelines. The Belfast Harlequins defender suffered a torn cruciate ligament in her knee in the closing stages of a club friendly with Lurgan last September and hopes to begin running again at the end of this month.
Ireland continue their preparations for Tokyo with a three-game series against Great Britain at Queen’s University in Belfast this weekend.
The matches on 13, 14 and 16 March will be live on the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.
