Bendtner feared he was blinded

Sunderland’s Nicklas Bendtner admits he was scared he would be left blind after being caught in the face by Swansea defender Angel Rangel.

The on-loan striker, who has scored four goals in 19 appearances for the Black Cats since joining from Arsenal, suffered a broken eye socket after being accidentally kicked in the face and now has to wear a protective eye-mask.

However, Bendtner had originally feared that the outcome of the injury would be a lot worse.

“When I realised what had happened, my first thought was: ‘I am blind’,” he said.

“His toe hit me straight in the eye, which is what caused all the problems.”

“At first I could not open the eye or see out of it at all. Eventually, when I could open the eye, all I could see was redness, so it was a real worry wondering if that would go away.”

“It was not good. I feared the worst – if you can only use one eye, your career is finished. You can get away with a broken nose, or broken jaw – that will heal. However, your eyes. They are the most important thing.”

The forward was also quick to hail Sunderland’s medical staff for their response to the injury and expressed his delight at being able to play in last weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby.

He added: “The medical staff did really well. They got an eye specialist in straight away and I needed injections in the injury to settle things down.”

“The mask enables me to play though, and I am glad I did because scoring in the derby on Sunday was a special moment in what was one of the most intense matches of my career.”