Canterbury’s men had a productive pre-season tournament in Holland last week, but suffered a setback when Stuart Goodman picked up a serious knee injury.

The Polo Farm club played five games in four days in Rotterdam and bedded in a number of new signings and youngsters.

Captain Michael Farrer said: “It’s been a good five games. We had a lot of pitch time, which the team needed and definitely integrated our new signings and gave some youngsters a great opportunity.”

However, the injury picked up by midfielder Goodman in Rottterdam did not help the team.

Farrer said: “Stuart’s waiting for an MRI scan on his knee. He’ll probably be out for the whole season by doing his knee ligaments – it’s a real shame.”

The team’s programme started on Thursday night with a 6-4 loss to well-drilled Russian side, Ekaterinburg.

Canterbury then came from 2-1 down to beat Mannheim 3-2 on Friday. They played two games on Saturday, a 3-2 win against Blau-Weiss and a 1-1 draw with another German side, Durkheim before finishing the tournament with a 9-1 defeat to the hosts.

Farrer said: “It was a mixed week for results but that’s not what it was about. We finished on a loss but overall, it was a good, tough week.”

New signings Wei Adams and Ali Bray provided assured defensive cover throughout the week and Farrer added: “Our new signings performed well. We developed our fitness and worked on tactics which was what we always planned to do.”