Kieswetter to visit USA eye specialist

Craig Kieswetter will seek a further opinion from an eye specialist in the United States to try to ascertain whether his cricketing career can survive the horrific eye injury that he sustained last season.

Kieswetter tweeted earlier this week that he was hoping for good news before he visited an eye specialist in Belgium, saying "Important day in Belgium: fingers crossed", but the outcome of that has been that he will seek further advice in the United States before determining his future.

Matt Maynard, Somerset director of cricket, said: "Craig will see an eye specialist in Belgium next week, as well as seeing a specialist in the USA. That will hopefully give some indication as to what will happen going forward."

"He has got a lot of years left as a top player but it is important that he makes sure he gets his vision looked after which is why he is seeing the best eye specialists in the world. Hopefully, that will give us a better understanding of the long term prognosis."

Kieswetter is struggling to regain perfect vision after sustaining a fractured cheekbone and broken nose when hit by a bouncer from David Willey in a LV= County Championship game against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road in July.

His optimistic mood at the end of the English season, after a return for Somerset suggested his blurred vision was behind him, proved premature when he finished a spell in the Ram Slam tournament in South Africa with the admission that his career remained in jeopardy.

Maynard accepts that Somerset will have to manage without Kieswetter this summer and he has urged him to "think selfishly" as he tries to decide if he can carve out a career in the game at the standards he wants.

"As a coach I have had to plan that we won't see him for the summer," Maynard said. "If the results from the specialists are positive and he feels that he is ready to resume his career before the end of the season then we would be delighted to have him back.

"Craig has to think quite selfishly at this stage about what's best for him. He loves playing cricket for Somerset and I am sure that he would love to continue doing so but first and foremost he knows that his eye has got to be right.

"When he came back at the tail end of last season Craig knew that his eye wasn't quite as good as it was prior to the injury. Then when he played in the Ram Slam T20 over in South Africa it became evident to Craig that the eye hadn't improved from where it was at the end of the season so that's obviously a concern for him.