Ben Hawes, the former England captain who was surprisingly dropped for the recent European Cup, has had to have major facial reconstruction after being hit in the face by a ball during a pre-season warm-up game for Surbiton. The 27 year old who returned to this country after playing in Holland in a bid to make the Great Britain Olympic team, was, at first, expected to miss a whole winter’s hockey. After a successful operation on Saturday, his surgeon said, while he will have to wear a special mask, he may be able to resume hockey in six weeks. George Bretten, the man who replaced Hawes in the Surbiton line-up yesterday, scored the only goal to give his new club a 1-0 win over Loughborough Students on the first day of the premier division.
