AN East Lancashire handball player will miss out on representing her country after suffering horrific facial injuries in a freak accident.

Paige Garvey (right) from Rossendale fell at the GB training base in Aarhus, Denmark fracturing her cheek bone and eye socket on the corner of a table.

The injury means that the 17-year-old will have to sit out the Four Nations Tournament which takes place in Sheffield this week.

“I am still a little swollen and bruised,” said left back Garvey. “I'm surviving, but after seeing the surgeon I was told that it would be a minimum of five weeks before I can start playing again.

“I will be able to start going to the gym and doing non-impact activities soon to ensure my fitness levels don’t drop and that all the hard work I, and the team, have put in isn’t wasted.”

For the Haslingden Handball Club player who has been playing since she was nine, the injury is a blow for someone who dreams of representing Great Britain in the London 2012 Olympics.

However, the GB team will have an East Lancashire connection with Burnley-born sisters Holly and Chloe Lam Moores in the squad for the tournament against Turkey, Latvia and the Faroe Islands.

“I think my team-mates will put on a good show in Sheffield and hope everyone comes out to support the team,” added Garvey. “But it’s going to be really hard just watching when I should be playing!”

The he Four Nations Invitational Tournament runs from October 16-18 and will give the GB squad a good chance to see just how much progress they have made towards their long-term goal of being competitive on the world stage in time for the 2012 Olympics in London.

It will be a great chance to gauge the progress the women’s team have made since finishing fourth in the European Challenge Trophy in Cyprus in March.