Just a few months ago, Chris Grassick wasn’t sure if he would ever play hockey for Scotland again. Despite being only in his mid-twenties, he was, he admits, seriously considering hanging up his hockey stick for good. Bearing in mind the excruciating disappointments he has endured over the past year, it is entirely understandable that he thought a "normal life" would be preferable.

The 26 year-old from Balerno was dealt two of the severest of blows in the space of just a few weeks; almost a year ago to the day, Grassick found out that he had been omitted from the final GB squad that was selected to go to the Rio Olympic Games. Having been part of the GB set-up for the entire four-year Olympic cycle, it was a crushing blow. Then, just a few weeks later, he snapped his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), an injury which is widely considered one of the worst in sport. “It’s been pretty tough 12 months,” Grassick admits, with more than a hint of understatement. “I was unsure whether I wanted to carry on playing and actually, I thought that I wasn’t going to continue. That wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction, I’d considered it for a while. But you have a lot of thinking time when you’re injured and I realised that I would regret it if I didn’t carry on. It wasn’t an easy decision and carrying on wasn’t the easy option – if anything, it was the harder option because you’re throwing yourself back into that environment where you could get disappointed again. But I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give and I believe that I was good enough to go to the Olympics so it feels like unfinished business. And you don’t just give up on your dreams.”

Grassick’s decision to return to the cut-throat world of elite sport was music to the ears of his compatriots. Having captained Scotland for several years until his injury, including at Glasgow 2014, his departure from the international game would have been acutely felt. Instead, the Surbiton forward returns to the national fold as the Scotland team prepare to make history by competing in the World League semi-finals which begin tomorrow, in London. It is the first time the men’s team have ever reached this stage and, with a world ranking of 23, the Scots are the underdogs in their group which also includes the Netherlands, India, Canada and Pakistan, all of whom are ranked in the world’s top 13.

Grassick is keen to stress, however, that he and his teammates are not travelling south merely to make up the numbers. “Everyone’s really excited to get going and although there’s no pressure on us, our target is to make the quarter-finals,” he said. “We’ve got some quiet confidence. We know what we’re capable of and so hopefully we’ll get a little bit of luck that will push us towards the quarters. We’re going to really compete.”

For Grassick, this tournament will be a significant test of where his game is following his ACL injury and having only returned to the hockey pitch a fortnight ago following months of rehab, he is being thrown in at the deep end. However, despite a touch of apprehension, the Scot is confident that his time on the sidelines has, in fact, improved him as an athlete. “I’ve put in a lot of hours in the gym and that’s really benefitted me,” he said. “It’s been a tough spell, particularly mentally but – and I know it’s a bit of a cliché – I do feel stronger having been through everything that I have. So I feel good in my body and good in my mind now.”

The men’s team have added motivation in the shape of their funding, or lack thereof. The senior squad receive no funding from Sportscotland and had to crowdfund in order to raise money to take part in this World League semi-final. As a member of the GB squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle, Grassick has the privilege of being a full-time athlete but the majority of his teammates are not afforded this luxury and are forced to combine training and competing with full-time jobs. But Grassick is adamant they use their lack of support from the national governing body as an incentive rather than as an excuse. “We channel our disappointment into motivation,” he said. “We’re all in it together and I feel like it creates a sense of team unity. We can either get annoyed about it or we can use that energy to show everyone what we can do. We’re using it as a driver and it’s a pretty exciting year coming up with the World League semi-finals, Euro Hockey in Glasgow and then the Commonwealth Games so we’re all really up for it.”