It's a matter of short-term pain for long-term gain.
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That's the line of thinking for Hockeyroos striker Mariah Williams, who is set to be rested for the opening two rounds of the upcoming FIH Pro League with an eye towards this year's Tokyo Olympics.
The Hunter Sports High School graduate suffered a slight ankle injury recently at training and will more than likely miss Australia's double headers in Sydney against Belgium this weekend and Great Britain on February 1 and 2.
Williams, 24, has instead set her sights on meeting Argentina in Perth on March 6 and 7.
"It wasn't anything major. It just pulled up sore and really swollen after training one day, the week of new year. I'm back on it now, but I probably won't play these first couple of rounds as a precaution," the Rio Olympian said.
"It's frustrating, especially missing home games, but with Olympics this year it's a big year and that's the main goal.
"The following [FIH Pro League] round is Argentina in Perth in March before we travel for overseas games [China, Germany and The Netherlands]."
The Hockeyroos lost the 2019 FIH Pro League decider to The Netherlands in June.
In the men's competition, defending champions the Kookaburras will finialise their team later this week with Norths defender Matt Dawson in the mix to tackle Belgium in a grand final replay from last year's inaugural tournament.
The back-to-back international fixtures at Homebush are scheduled to get underway at 4pm and 6:30pm on Saturday as well as 3pm and 5:30pm on Sunday.
