De Gea needs eye surgery

David de Gea's erratic first season at Manchester United has taken place with the talented but error-prone goalkeeper suffering from an eyesight problem that may necessitate laser surgery at the end of the season.

De Gea, dropped from United's past three matches after making a succession of mistakes, is long-sighted and plays in contact lenses. United employ a full-time optometrist, based at their training ground, and the Spaniard has been recommended for treatment to restore his sight to normal as he tries to cut out the mistakes that have cost him his place as Sir Alex Ferguson's first-choice goalkeeper.

Having worn glasses for most of his life, De Gea was going to have laser surgery last March when he was at Atlético Madrid. At the time, however, the Atlético medical staff told him to wait at least another year because he needed a stable prescription.

United were aware of the issue when they signed him for £18.3m in the summer. De Gea has had regular check-ups since replacing Edwin van der Sar and held off the challenge of Anders Lindegaard until one mistake too many in the 3-2 home defeat against Blackburn Rovers on New Year's Eve.

De Gea has been at fault, to different degrees, for as many as six to nine goals in his first five months in the team and, though there have been times when his goalkeeping has been exceptional, his first season in England has been a difficult one. Whether there is any link to his vision is not clear, but wearers of contact lenses often find their eyesight is strained when watching football under artificial light, and the priority at Old Trafford is to make sure it is not even potentially a factor.

United still have high aspirations that De Gea, at 21, can demonstrate he was worth the money and become a great goalkeeper for the club.

The hope is that he can be booked in for laser treatment in June, when he could take advantage of the summer break to have the four-day period of rest that is advised. He is then expected to be selected for Spain's Olympics squad if, as expected, he misses out on Euro 2012 behind Iker Casillas, José Reina and Victor Valdés.

spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

Cassius_Case wrote:spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

that is such poor logic.. he is not going blind ffs..

diptiman wrote:

Cassius_Case wrote:spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

that is such poor logic.. he is not going blind ffs..

ffs but he's a goal keeper that struggles to see long distences.. how is he meant to save a shot if he cant see it! ffs so quick to judge without thinking some times you lot on here..

Eye surgery to save United's season.

Cassius_Case wrote:

diptiman wrote:

Cassius_Case wrote:spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

that is such poor logic.. he is not going blind ffs..

ffs but he's a goal keeper that struggles to see long distences.. how is he meant to save a shot if he cant see it! ffs so quick to judge without thinking some times you lot on here..

wonder how he fared at atleti then..

18M on a one eyed gk I keed tho.

couldnt care. buying a keeper for that much when one of his eyes needs surgery is stupid. end of.

i wish DDG the best of luck though.

I'm sure plenty of footballers play with contact lenses... Not everyone is 20/20.

This will perhaps make it easier long term, but it's still not an excuse for his Almunia like performances.

Cassius_Case wrote:

diptiman wrote:

Cassius_Case wrote:spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

that is such poor logic.. he is not going blind ffs..

ffs but he's a goal keeper that struggles to see long distences.. how is he meant to save a shot if he cant see it! ffs so quick to judge without thinking some times you lot on here..

stop saying "you lot on here"

Lionel Messi wrote:

Cassius_Case wrote:

diptiman wrote:

Cassius_Case wrote:spending £17.8 million on a goal keeper with a f*cked up eye

btw Lindegaard is humble and respectful

that is such poor logic.. he is not going blind ffs..

ffs but he's a goal keeper that struggles to see long distences.. how is he meant to save a shot if he cant see it! ffs so quick to judge without thinking some times you lot on here..

stop saying "you lot on here"

well YOU LOT stop acting like A-holes.. deal

im thinking united didn't know about the eye problem when we signed him. i remember scholesy missing a lot of time a few years ago with eye trouble, i think he was in danger of getting a detached retina. anyways he came through it and his passing was still pinpoint.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

I agree with this thread, He certainly needs it.

How long before Yanited use this as an excuse for his poor performances?

I really don't see the problem?

He's long sighted, and he wears contact lenses. That should fix the problem yes?

The only thing this is doing is making it easier on him, so he doesn't have to put contact lenses in everyday.

The only time contact lenses would be detrimental is if they are a bad prescription (LOLNONOTINTHISCASE) or if they got real dry or something and messed his vision up during a game.

Neither of these have happened (or if they have we don't know).

So I'm struggling to see why he needs laser eye surgery? Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about eyes could tell me, cause I really just don't get it. I play with contacts, I'm sure many pros do. Do they need eye surgery too? Don't think so...

I'm guessing the freedom from the hassle of having to put in and take out a lense alone is worth getting the surgery. Can't imagine contact lenses in a 90 minute game of football would be too practical, especially if you're a keeper flying about the place

I'm sure-as someone said- many footballers have contacts. It would be stupid to assume not to. 10 out of the 11 positions in football are NOT in goal, and will be running more than a goalkeeper. These positions all have potential for having a contact lens become dry or irritated than a goalkeeper position where one isn't moving a whole lot for a lot of the match. Especially compared to other positions.

I get what your saying, but I'm still quite confused. I just really don't see the problem with wearing contact lenses I guess.