LONDON: England women’s hockey coach Danny Kerry suffered a heart attack during the recent World League tournament in South Africa and will miss his team’s defence of the European title next month.

Kerry, who led Great Britain’s women to gold medal glory at the 2016 Olympics, was admitted to Milpark Hospital last week after feeling unwell while at the World League semi-final in Johannesburg.

The 46-year-old is now returning home but is not expected to be back at work until September, leaving assistant coach David Ralph in charge for the EuroHockey Championship in Amsterdam, which starts on Aug 18.

“I would like to give my huge thanks and debt of gratitude to Dr Ramjee and the wonderful staff at Milpark for the exceptional care I received whilst in hospital,” Kerry said.

“I would also like to convey how proud I am of how both players and staff continued through the tournament in such a professional manner, particularly during the Saturday I was admitted.

“I look forward to some extended time with my wonderful family and friends, to recovering, and to returning to the role I love in due course.”

Kerry has overseen a golden period for women’s hockey in Britain, including a 2012 Olympic bronze medal finish and another third-place finish at the World Cup.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2017