Wright in Sight Dilemma

PETER WRIGHT is ready to keep his sight on glory by trying contact lenses before the Unibet Premier League.

The World Champion struggled badly during the Betfred World Matchplay with eyesight issues, firstly trying specs before taking them off after getting light glare on stage.

But Wright, 50, has been told by Optical Express that his sight isn’t bad enough for laser surgery and will now try contacts before the Premier League resumes on August 25.

He said: “I’m quite surprised by the verdict but I now have three weeks to try and sort this and get used to contacts.

“I must be honest, I’m not fond of the idea of putting things in my eyes. I’ve spoken to Michael Smith who wears contacts, I wasn’t planning for this to be the situation. But I can’t keep playing with blurry vision.

“I have no idea why it suddenly came on that my eyesight worsened during lockdown. I tried the glasses at the Summer Series and they weren’t a problem and I won that.

“But the lights on stage really affected by games at the Matchplay. It’s not ideal when you are thinking about the glasses instead of concentrating on the game.

“I’ll have a go at the contacts, I’m not looking forward to that. But it’s another thing I need to achieve in three weeks. There’s never a dull moment!”

Wright struggled in his opening Matchplay clash with Jose De Sousa and trailed 8-5. But he took off his specs and reeled off five successive legs to win through.

Snakebite played his second round tie against Glen Durrant without glasses, seeing his bid for Matchplay glory end in an 11-8 defeat.

He added: “I wanted new eyes after surgery by the Premier League. The glasses had to go but I know I can solve this.”

By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)