Injured Great Britain Hockey captain Kate Walsh is to undergo a fitness test on Friday.
GB Hockey skipper continues recovery from fractured jaw
Great Britain Hockey captain Kate Walsh will begin easing her way back towards a return to Olympic action when she undergoes a fitness test on Friday.
Walsh has undergone surgery to insert a titanium plate after fracturing her jaw when she was hit by a stick during Team GB's 4-0 victory over Japan on Sunday.
The 32-year-old returned to the Riverbank Arena with a bruised and swollen left side of her face on Thursday after she was named in the match-day squad for the host's 3-0 win over Belgium - although there was never any intention for her to take part in the game.
The Reading defender has done some light running since she returned to the Olympic village and coach Danny Kerry will now begin to step things up to see whether she can be involved in the latter stages of the tournament.
Boost
"We are going to fitness test Kate," he said. "First of all that is running pretty hard and looking at toleration of pain, because a lot of forces go up through your body.
"If Kate comes through that we will put a stick in her hand and get her to slap the ball and make her tackle.
"If she comes through those things in a positive way then there is a possibility she might play on Saturday (against China) but at the moment it is impossible to say."
Wales midfielder Sarah Thomas revealed the lift they had received from having Walsh, their most experienced player, back within the squad environment.
"Just to have her back in the village was a boost for us," she said. "For her to be sat on that bench next to us is really uplifting for the team - it is great to have her back."
