I nearly missed the Euros after being rushed in for emergency eye surgery

SFA chief Maxwell's shock as trip to optician flags up vision danger

- LUCINDA CAMERON

SFA boss lan Maxwell has told how he suffered an emergency that could have cost him his sight in one eye just before the Euros.

He almost missed Scotland's opening match in Germany after an optician spotted a retinal detachment and referred him for urgent treatment.

After undergoing emergency surgery in early June he was unable to fly due to risks during his recovery. So he spent almost 24 hours travelling by train to Munich in time for the Scotland v Germany match on June 14.

Maxwell said he decided to see an optician after realising there was something wrong with his vision in the lead up to the tournament.

He said: "I had a shadow in my field of vision in my right eye.

"I kept making excuses to myself... it's a virus... I've been looking at my screen too long.

"But your body tells you when something's just not right.

"I was supposed to be heading over to Germany with the team for two weeks for the Euros but I remember being at Hampden thinking, 'You know what? There's an opticians five minutes away, I'll get checked out' - so I went to Specsavers in Rutherglen.

"I was given eye drops to dilate my pupils and tests showed my peripheral vision was really reduced, and I was told I had a detached retina.

Within a day I'd been whisked in for surgery.