England captain Barry Middleton out of Champions Trophy

Men's Champions Trophy
Venue: Monchengladbach, Germany Dates: 31 July - 8 August
Coverage: Match reports and highlights on the BBC Sport website

Middleton will play his club hockey in Germany next season

England hockey captain Barry Middleton has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy in Germany after breaking his toe in a training match last Friday.

The 26-year-old will be replaced by Bowdon forward Alastair Brogdon while a replacement captain will be named when the team arrives in Monchengladbach.

Brogdon scored England's first goal in their World Cup semi-final defeat to the Netherlands in March.

England's campaign gets under way against Germany on Saturday.

They then take on Spain on Sunday, 1 August, defending champions Australia on Tuesday, 3 August, the Netherlands on Thursday, 5 August, and New Zealand on Saturday, 7 August.

The men will be hoping to at least match the success of the women's team, who won the first Champions Trophy medal in the nation's history when they beat Germany in the bronze medal play-off in Nottingham earlier this month.