KEY POINTS:
Injury has taken Black Sticks captain Ryan Archibald out of the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, which starts in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Thursday. There are fears he could also miss the forthcoming pre-Olympic European tour.
And, looking further ahead, Archibald, 27, who played the first of his 203 games
for New Zealand in 1997, will also have painful memories of the injury which robbed him of his Olympic dream in Athens four years ago after the team failed to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
In a training session just hours after joining his Black Sticks teammates from Holland, Archibald slipped and fell heavily, injuring the AC joint in a shoulder. He faces a minimum of three-four weeks on the sideline.
Midlands midfielder/inside-forward Lloyd Stephenson has been called into the 18-man squad for the tournament and will fly to Malaysia tomorrow but might struggle to make it to the tournament venue in time for the first match against India.
Team manager Kevin Marr said Archibald was bitterly disappointed at being forced out of the tournament which is seen as a vital part of the team's Olympic preparation and selection. Archibald, who became the fifth New Zealand player to play 200 internationals during February's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, dramatically won by New Zealand, could still go on the European tour but may not see any action during the early stages of the Dutch-based campaign.
Veteran striker Phil Burrows, who will now be the most experienced of the Black Sticks playing in Ipoh, with 185 caps and was playing in Holland with Archibald, will take over the captaincy.
Burrows and Archibald played for Rotterdam in the first leg of the Dutch League semifinals, with Burrows scoring in the loss to Bloemendaal. Rotterdam, without their Kiwi stars, also lost the second leg and have been eliminated.
For Stephenson, who will celebrate his 27th birthday in Ipoh on Saturday, it is an added chance to press his Olympic claims after being part of the team who beat Argentina in the final of the qualifying tournament but was subsequently dropped for the Azlan Shah.
He has been in and out of the national side, notching 81 appearances since his debut in 2001.
Archibald is almost certain to miss the May 26-29 boot camp in Waiouru, after which the 18-strong squad for the June 5-25 European tour will be announced by coach Shane McLeod.