Eva de Goede’s career is hanging in the balance after the Dutch star admitted that she was unlikely to be fit for the 2022 Women’s Hockey World Cup.
The 32-year-old Netherlands captain tore a cruciate ligament and sustained damage to her meniscus during the Pro League match with Belgium – where she played her 250th international match last week – and she was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday.
De Goede slipped on the ball against Belgium and her injury could see her out of action for nine months. The two-time world player of the year was expected to make the World Cup her international swansong.
“The most important thing for me is that I am now recovering well as a person,” she told hockey.nl. “Just to be able to move. To be able to run fast. I don’t know if I can still play hockey professionally. There is still too much uncertainty for that. We have to determine that during my recovery.
“I notice that I have a lot of drive and energy to tackle this. I don’t want it to be over yet. I don’t wish it on myself that I have to stop like this. I hope I can decide for myself how my hockey career ends.”
In April Goede saw her preparations for the Olympics severely hampered after breaking her wrist.
De Goede left the pitch in tears during Amsterdam’s third-place win at the first Euro Hockey League Women. But she recovered in time to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Dutch victory over Belgium last week was the side’s 18th successive win of the Orange year.
They scored 68 goals and conceded just eight in an unbeaten year, their best to date, as they won Euro and Olympic titles.
