Hockey India League: Lucas Toscani joins Delhi SG Pipers, replaces Christopher Ruhr

Hyderabad: Lucas Toscani of Argentina has joined Delhi SG Pipers ahead of the upcoming Hockey India League.

The Argentine midfielder replaces Germany’s Christopher Ruhr in the Delhi SG Pipers team.

Ruhr will not be taking part in the Hockey India League after the forward was ruled out of the league due to medical reasons. Delhi SG Pipers, in a social media post, confirmed the development.

The Germany-based player has opted out of the Hockey India League after being advised intensive rehabilitation by doctors following an ACL injury on his left knee. The German sustained the injury during the Paris Olympics qualifiers.

Ruhr, a two-time Olympic medalist, was acquired by Delhi SG Pipers in the player auction for INR 18 lakh. His departure now leaves a void in the front line but Toscani’s addition would address that a bit for the team.

The 30-year-old Ruhr won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Toscani was also a part of the Argentina team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and his team lost to Germany in the quarterfinals.

The 25-year-old Toscani won the Pan American Cup (2022) and Pan American Games (2023) with the Argentina national team. He has 60 caps for Argentina and has scored 14 goals.

Delhi SG Pipers head coach Graham Reid said while he was disappointed with Ruhr's injury and unavailability, he expressed happiness on Toscani's addition and added that he was a three-dimensional player. “(I am) really disappointed that Christopher is injured and therefore not able to play for us. But I'm really hopeful he’ll be able to join us next year and the year after. But, I think Lucas is going to be fantastic. He’s got really good skills, is a 3D player and someone who is very keen to play in India. I think it’ll be a great privilege to have him join the team and he’ll complement our attacking play,” Reid said.

This is the second replacement Delhi SG Pipers are doing after the player auction. The franchise included Australian defender Corey Weyer as a replacement for his compatriot Flynn Ogilvie, who had to opt out of the Hockey India League due to personal reasons.

Delhi SG Pipers squad for Hockey India League 2024-25 season: Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Rohit, Pau Clapes, Joginder Singh, Corey Weyer, Shamsher Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Willott KY, Ankit Pal, Lucas Toscani, Jorrit Croon, Manjeet, Thokchom Kingson Singh, Tomas Domene, Nicolas De Kerpel, Dilraj Singh, Aditya Lalage, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Sumit Kumar, Iktidar Ishrat, Tomas Santiago, Pawan and Adarsh G.