England’s Mantell ruled out of hockey World Cup

NEW DELHI: England hockey team suffered a big jolt as their key defender Richard Mantell was ruled out of the ongoing World Cup after twisting his right ankle during their match against Pakistan on Thursday.

Mantell was taken off the field on a stretcher towards the close of the Pool B match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium and coach Jason Lee said he will miss the tournament.

Mantell, one of the five English players who ran out in defence of a Pakistani penalty corner, fell down at the ground after apparently colliding with an opposition player.

“Richard is one of the best distributors of the ball. He has twisted his right ankle and he will miss the tournament,” Jason said after his side beat Pakistan 5-2 in an ill-tempered match.

“His absence will be felt as an important match comes up on Saturday against India,” he added.

Captain Barry Middleton conceded that his players “lost their heads” for a while after Mantell was injured.

“Mantell was taken off the field and some of us lost our head for 10 minutes or so after that. He (Mantell) is such a big player and it was a bit emotional at that time and there was lots of passion,” he said.