Sam Ward: GB & England player still 'dreams' of Tokyo 2020 despite 'freak' eye injury
- Published
Sam Ward had surgery on his facial fractures earlier in November
Great Britain and England hockey player Sam Ward says it remains his "dream" to make the Tokyo 2020 Olympic squad despite suffering a "freak" eye injury.
The 28-year-old was struck in the face by the ball during GB's play-off win over Malaysia on 3 November, sustaining a crushed retina and facial fractures.
Ward has lost some vision in his left eye but hopes to play in Tokyo.
"That is my dream," he said. "It's been in my sight the last couple of years. I hope to be back and going to that."
Ward has scored 72 goals in 126 appearances for Great Britain and England and represented GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
He scored twice against Malaysia as GB secured qualification for the 2020 Games, which begin on 24 July.
"In my head, I've got a strong chance of coming back," he told BBC Radio 5 Live Drive.
"You've got to work hard, train hard, do your rehab right. The biggest thing is putting yourself in the best position possible, so making sure you make the right decisions day in, day out."
Ward's parents were at the Malaysia game and spoke to their son before he went to hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair the fractures.
He now has peripheral vision in his left eye and a grey patch in the middle, which has improved since what he described as a "freak incident".
"I have been informed there is retinal damage and it will never return to its full state," Ward added. "To what degree [it will recover], at the moment we don't know.
"It's a tough pill to swallow but it depends how you look at things. I'm a fully-functioning man, I've got everything I need, I've got all the support around - medical staff, the lot. There's a lot worse things out there in life. As long as you keep perspective, I'll be fine."
Head protection 'practically tough'
Hockey players wear face masks when defending penalty corners but Ward was attacking when he inadvertently blocked a goalbound shot by a team-mate.
"I remember seeing the ball heading towards my head, everything just seemed to slow down," he said.
"The way I play, I get into some funny positions. It helps me score goals but for the first time ever it really caught me out.
"It was a freak incident. I've known of other incidents but never this severe. I'm just unlucky. I put myself in that place so I've got to take it on the chin.
"It's a tough one to say whether it [head protection] should be worn in more areas of the game. It's one of those things that needs weighing up in time. Practically, it's pretty tough."