World relief for Scots' number eight Callum

Aug 31 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

DAVE CALLAM has revealed his relief at being declared fit to take part in Scotland’s World Cup campaign.

The 24-year-old number eight had been a major injury doubt after a clash of heads during Scotland’s 27-3 defeat to South Africa on Saturday caused him to suffer blurred vision in his right eye.

Callam was rushed to hospital for tests on Saturday evening, but it was not until Tuesday, after he had seen two specialists, that he received the all-clear.

Scotland’s campaign gets under way against Portugal on September 9 in Saint-Etienne.

“The start of the week was very nerve-racking,” said Callam.

“The thought of being ruled out in the last game before the World Cup was terrible, I don’t know if it was worse than waiting to find out if I was in the squad in the first place.

“Between worrying about the injury and the game, there wasn’t much sleep on Saturday night.

“I’m delighted to be back. It’s been a quick turnaround and I feel fine now.

“There is still some swelling but it has cleared up really quickly and it feels pretty much back to normal.

“I can’t remember the specific incident, all I know is that I got this bang on the eye which gave me blurred vision in one eye, and the medical team were concerned enough to decide that I couldn’t continue to play.

“There was very little pain – it was just a bit of swelling above the eye.

“I trained today although I didn’t do any contact. I’m just giving it a chance to settle.”