Hardik's MRI looks better than we thought, says Indian head coach Graham ahead of clash against Wales

India will lock horns with Wales in their final pool game at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Thursday. India is at the second place in the pool with four points, lower than England, which also has four points, due to an inferior goal difference. Wales is at the bottom with zero points, having lost both of their games.

"We will decide on Hardik tomorrow. His MRI looks better than what we had thought," said the coach during the pre-match press conference.

Hardik sustained the injury in the Pool D match against England which ended in a 0-0 draw in the ongoing FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023.

"On the basis of the MRI results, the team management will assess the extent of his hamstring injury and take a call on his availability for the India Vs Wales match. At the moment no replacement request has been put forward to the FIH," Hockey India said in an official statement.

The 24-year-old midfielder has been in terrific form as he scored a brilliant solo goal in the match against Spain in the first Pool D match played at Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela where the hosts won 2-0.

The coach said that the team will have their focus on playing their normal game.

"Stay patient, play simple and do stuff that normally gets you good results. The message will be that," he added.

The coach said that the team has made a lot of opportunities to score, but the execution of skills remains the focus.

Graham said that Wales is a good team and plays a lot like England.

Harmanpreet Singh, the captain said that while it is true that penalty strokes are not being converted into goals, but his team will try its best to score.

"During the match, it (PC) is a good opportunity to score. It is right that we are not converting them. We will try to do variations and score," said the skipper. (ANI)