Freak accident rules captain Frazer out for nine months

Ireland’s hopes of World Cup qualification have been dealt a serious blow after captain Megan Frazer was ruled out for up to nine months.

The Derry native has ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament and partially torn her medial cruciate ligament, the injury occurring while passing a ball under no pressure during training with her club, Mannheimer HC.

Frazer, who said she was “completely devestated” at the news, had only just joined the top German outfit in the summer after spearheading a historic pair of Irish Senior Cup wins for Ulster Elks.

It means she will miss World League 2 in Malaysia in January, the start of the road to the World Cup for Graham Shaw’s charges.

Ireland will be confident of advancing there but will hope the influential captain will be fit for the much tougher final qualifying round in Belgium or South Africa in July

Meanwhile, the semi-finals of the Subway All-Ireland Schoolboys Championships will get underway in Dublin this morning without a Munster representative.

None of Bandon Grammar, Ashton and Villiers managed to top their groups although the Limerick school did finish well by recording a 3-2 success against Belfast’s Methodist College.

Wesley, St Andrews, Banbridge Academy and Wallace High make up the last four.

Elsewhere, following last weekend’s interpros, Ireland U16 coach Ali McNeill has named an extended squad to begin preparations for next summer’s Osaka Six Nations.

Six Munster girls — Laurna McHugh, Anna Horan, Sarah Murphy, Rebecca Kingston, Nikki Barry and Enya O’Donoghue — have made the cut. Club action takes a break this weekend with the intervarsities taking centre stage at Jordanstown in Belfast.

UCD will be strong fancies on the women’s side, while the men’s is more open but UUJ and DIT will be among the fancied sides.