Nicola White: Olympic champion leaves GB hockey after almost two years of "soul-destroying" concussion
- Published
Nicola White won gold with Great Britain at Rio 2016
Olympic champion Nicola White has been removed from the Great Britain hockey programme after 20 months spent recovering from "soul-destroying" concussion.
White sustained the injury when she hit her head on a player's shoulder during a friendly against Ireland in March 2018 and has not played since.
The 31-year-old won gold with GB at Rio 2016 and bronze at London 2012.
"I am hugely disappointed by this," White said.
"But I am determined to overcome my injury. Throughout this recovery I have done my utmost to try and get back to the level needed for international hockey. However, due to the severity of chronic symptoms and pain, it's not been possible to reach the deadline set for me."
Great Britain's women's and men's teams secured places at the 2020 Olympics after qualifying play-off wins in November and White hopes she can return to fitness in time to compete in Tokyo in July.
She made her international debut in 2009 and has earned 186 caps, helping England to European gold in 2015.
A GB hockey statement said "the door remains open" for the forward to return.
"Her concussion has been incredibly tough," said GB hockey's performance director Ed Barney.
"She has continued to persevere, fight and do everything within her power to recover. We are sad that the time has come to make a decision about her participation in the central programme, but we hope that she'll be back out on a hockey pitch as soon as possible."
Fellow Olympic champion Alex Danson is still recovering from a head injury suffered in a freak accident on holiday in 2018, while Shona McCallin was kept away from the sport for 10 months because of concussion, although she missed a further seven months with a knee injury.