Sandeep likely for PHL 2nd phase

BANGALORE, Dec 24: Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh is likely to return to action in the second leg of the Premier Hockey League, beginning in Chandigarh from February 11.
The 20-year-old Sandeep, who sustained a bullet injury days before the Monchengladbach World Cup, is currently at the Sports Authority of India, Patiala, working on a training schedule and eagerly awaiting his return to big-time hockey.
The comeback, ideally, should be during the Chandigarh leg as it gives him enough time to dig himself in before bigger competitions in the subsequent months.
"One thing is sure," Sandeep told TOI. "I'll begin playing only when I am confident I am fully fit. I do not want to risk recurrence of injuries or worry about not giving my best.
That is why I decided I will not play in the first phase in Chennai. Now, I have about a month and a half before matches begun in Chandigarh."
One factor that will nag Sandeep is the truth that he has not played a single 70-minute match after his return. And, that explains why the Indian Hockey Federation chose to postpone his entry into the national side although Sandeep figured in the Asian Games camp in Rourkela for a brief while.
"I was with HC Eindhoven in Holland from October where I underwent physiotherapy," Sandeep said. "A week into the session, I did a little bit of trapping and hitting.
Four weeks later, I began practising my drag flicks at full pace. I also played six-a-side games but never did I figure in a full game of hockey."
That could happen in the near future as Sandeep trains with the NIS coach Inderjit Singh Gill in Patiala.