The Indian hockey team suffered a jolt ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament when reliable defender Viren Rasquinha was ruled out of the competition after suffering a broken finger.
Rasquinha broke the left hand finger during training on Friday and has been advised three weeks rest, Indian Hockey Federation informed on Saturday.
The Azlan Shah tournament would be held from May 26 to June 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"He has suffered a fracture and would not be taking the field for the next three weeks as he has been advised rest," the IHF official said.
The sources said IHF would prune the 35-member probables list to 18 before shifting the camp to Hyderabad where the players would undergo training alongwith the juniors, who were preparing at the Gachibowli stadium for the upcoming World Cup.
The seniors underwent their final training session on Saturday in the National stadium here before moving to Hyderabad on Monday for the final preparation for the annual event.
"The seniors and juniors would play some practice matches there which would be beneficial for both the squads," the sources said.
More from rediff