SAFETY FIRST

Injuries can happen at any time in sports and are often the result of someone else. So no matter how many times you've put yourself at risk remember that it only takes one incident to cause serious damage. This week I came within an inch of hitting Ciaran directly in the eye with my racket. And this is a picture of Derek who is lucky to have walked away with 10 stitches and a hell of a shiner, this could have been much worse had a squash racket hit him just a few inches higher.

When I first started playing I too was hit in the eye by an excessive swinger, the racket cut my eyelid causing a serious amount of bleeding and caused me to lose consciousness. I had 3 stitches in my eyelid (which they don't freeze) and the entire left side of my face had swollen. I was lucky that day and have since promoted the use of eye protection.