Hollie Pearne-Webb: Great Britain captain has back surgery to resolve long-standing problem

Great Britain captain Hollie Pearne-Webb, left, was awarded an MBE in 2017

Great Britain captain Hollie Pearne-Webb has had back surgery to try and resolve a long-standing issue.

Pearne-Webb is regarded as one of the best defenders in world hockey.

The 33-year-old scored the decisive shootout goal as GB's women won their first ever Olympic gold at Rio 2016 and has helped the side reach Paris 2024.

In a post on Instagram she said that an operation was her only option to "try and get back to living a normal life and playing hockey".

Pearne-Webb, who is also a qualified accountant, captained the GB team to take bronze at Tokyo 2020 and also has European and Commonwealth golds in her medal collection.