Pushing through the pain barrier, Hockeyroos star Casey Eastham's Olympic preparation will remarkably remain unchanged, after suffering a fractured eye socket which could easily have ended her London dream.
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Eastham arrives in the United Kingdom today for a pre-Olympic tournament at the Games venue.
The 23-year-old Albion Park glamour girl has five stitches and significant bruising around her eye, after wearing a hockey ball during training in Perth last week.
However, her mother Janette yesterday revealed Eastham has decided against wearing a protective mask during the Olympic campaign, because it will restrict her vision.
Janette is optimistic the worst is behind her daughter, with less than two months until the Games begin.
"I've been a bit nervous about her for a while, I just want her to make it to the Olympics without injury," she said.
"She trains and plays, doing what she does, but you know things can go wrong.
"Two others have had ACL [anterior cruciate ligament knee] injuries this year, so you just never know until she runs out for that first game.
"The doctors say if she was going to have a facial fracture, that's one of the better ones, so I just hope she can stay injury-free from now on."
Eastham suffered an orbital eye socket fracture when struck by a ball deflected off a goalkeeper's pads.
In incredible pain, she tried to play down the injury when helped off the training field. The accident follows the death of West Australia player Lizzie Watkins, who was hit in the back of the head by a ball earlier this month.
Eastham spent the next two days resting to reduce the swelling around her eye, but after discussions with doctors and her coach Adam Commens, she will not cut back her training workload or playing time during the pre-Olympic tournament.
"She was contemplating wearing the mask, but it's not a sensible option because it really does restrict her vision," Janette said.
"Especially when the ball is at her feet, it becomes an issue.
"She will likely wear a mask when defending corners, but all the girls are encouraged to wear them then anyway.
"There's still the option to have surgery later, but at this stage she's comfortable about playing on.
"She's taking it all in her stride."
Janette travelled to Perth the day after the incident happened last Tuesday for the annual Australian hockey awards dinner, which turned into a trip to comfort her daughter.
The final Australian squad is chosen next month, but Eastham is almost certain to be on the team sheet.
Still, Janette remains wary after Eastham avoided doing further damage, citing an injury to her former Australian team-mate Fiona Johnson before the Beijing Olympics.
"She did her hammy [hamstring] in the last warm-up before playing in Beijing," she said.
"It shows anything can happen.
"But we're just glad she's okay and looking forward to her being at her best when it starts in London."
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