![Kookaburras defender Matthew Dawson playing for Newcastle club Norths. Picture by Jonathan Carroll Kookaburras defender Matthew Dawson playing for Newcastle club Norths. Picture by Jonathan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/3c67f531-bf82-4c1f-b657-48ff9f71e3a6.jpg/r0_804_4412_2784_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
MATTHEW Dawson severely injured his finger last week.
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The Norths hockey defender opted to have the tip removed later that same day.
He's now flown to Paris in pursuit of Olympic gold with the Kookaburras.
In what Dawson describes as a "whirlwind" experience and amid a "rollercoaster of emotions", the 30-year-old feels confident of racing the fitness clock to take part in his third Games despite the unexpected setback.
With the fourth finger on his right hand now reduced to the same length as his adjacent pinky, Dawson may use a specially made splint during the tournament which begins next weekend.
Dawson was accidentally struck by an opponent's stick during an intra-squad training match in Perth on July 11, causing a partial amputation before seeing a doctor almost immediately and being faced with a lift-altering decision.
"Obviously I went into a bit of shock and I think I passed out for a period of time," Dawson told the Newcastle Herald.
"When people don't say anything around you when they look at it, you know it's pretty bad. So there's a million things running through your head.
"The first one is OK that's it, you need to have surgery and that's the Olympics done. So that was a rollercoaster of emotions.
"When I walked into the plastic surgeon he said you've got two options [re-attach or cut off] ... I didn't really have a great deal of time to think about it.
"I didn't have a day or two to sit on it and see what I wanted to do.
"I asked him 'you're a surgeon and you need your hand for your job, what would you do?' He said he'd take the tip off as well.
"There was also no guarantee [post surgery to re-attach] I would ever get back to full, normal function and I was probably going to have issues with stiffness and arthritis later on in life.
"And I can still go to the Olympics.
"I guess when you say it like that, it's a no brainer.
"But still, I'm cutting off part of my body that I've had for the last 30 years."
It's not the first time Dawson's preparations have been halted before a major competition, almost losing vision from an eye prior to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.
He consulted with the same medical specialist on each occasion.
"Last time I had six weeks to get right, this time I had six days," Dawson said.
He trained solo in the 48 hours leading up to Wednesday's departure from Australia.
"I definitely think that I'll be fine. I'm not a week into it and I'm already playing hockey. It's only going to get better," Dawson said.
Newcastle clubmate Ky Willott is poised to make his Olympic debut eight years after Dawson did in Rio.
The Kookaburras, silver medallists last time around in Tokyo, open their Games campaign against Argentina at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on July 27.