A hockey player chose to have part of his finger amputated so he could compete at the Paris Olympics.

Australian Matt Dawson, 30, badly broke a digit on his right hand after he was hit by a hockey stick during a training session in Perth two weeks ago.

The impact left the top of his finger nearly entirely severed and his Olympic dreams were hanging in the balance.

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Doctors said his injury would take four to six months to recover, meaning he would have to miss this summer’s games in France.

Or, the athlete could have his finger amputated and make it to the competition.

Dawson, who plays in defence for Australia, chose the latter.

A surgeon took about an inch off the end of his ring finger on his right hand, just below the top knuckle.

He said he had called his wife after talking about the amputation with the surgeon and she warned him against making a “rash decision”.

“With all the information I had to make the decision, in a pretty short period of time, I still decided to take it and I can still have a pretty good functioning life with just a little less finger to worry about,” Dawson said on the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast.

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Dawson is now in Paris for his third Olympics with the Kookaburras.

Australia’s men’s hockey team will play Argentina on Saturday at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Paris.

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