The eyes, it is often said, are the windows to the soul. For Hungary's Szandra Pergel, one such broken window nearly spelled disaster. Pergel, 31, is one of Hungary's best players, ranked third nationally and 76th in the world. This June, she led her club Budaörs to the national championship. After what she called "a real ‘Hollywood’ ending" to her 11-year career with the club, she has signed a contract to play in France. This week, the Hungarian women's team accepted an invitation to train with the Czech national team at their new training facility in Havírov. Top players from Poland also joined the training camp, as players across the cautiously reopening continent are desperate to train with different practice partners. Unfortunately for Szandra Pergel, she was not able to make the trip to the Czech Republic. After suffering from pain in her eye, a visit to the doctor revealed a partially detached retina, according to Hungarian women's coach Zoltán Bátorfi. "We do not know exactly what caused the trouble, nor do the doctors," admitted Bátorfi. "She had been complaining about her eye for a while, and finally she went to the Sports Hospital, from where she was immediately redirected to the eye clinic because they saw that there was a bigger and more serious problem." According to the Mayo Clinic, a detached retina left untreated can cause permanent loss of vision. While this would be devastating to anyone, the impact on a professional table tennis player would be incalculably cruel. "Thank God, the surgery went well, she is already recovering at home, but it will take quite a while," said Bátorfi. "She has to stay in bed for two or three weeks, she cannot even get up, we do not know yet when she will be able to play again." In addition to missing the party in Havírov, Pergel will almost certainly be forced to sit out the Budapest Championship later this month and the European Championships in Poland, running September 15-20. Of course, as coach Bátorfi and her new club in France have surely reminded her, her long-term health is paramount. After all, a professional athlete only has a finite window of opportunity in life. For Szandra Pergel, the weighty burden of propping this window open now rests entirely on the tiny, delicate window to her soul. We wish her the best in her recovery.

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