DORSET skipper Sean Walbridge will have more eye surgery tomorrow - dashing his hopes of being fit to play for the county against Wales this weekend.

The former Dorchester off-spinner was rushed into Southampton General at the end of April after complaining of vision problems.

He ended up having surgery to save the sight in both eyes after doctors diagnosed detached retinas and missed out on leading Dorset in their C&G Trophy clash with Yorkshire.

He had aimed to make a comeback against Wales at the weekend - but his consultant has decided further surgery is needed and that means at least another month on the sidelines.

"Apparently a little bit of the eye is still tacky and that requires more laser treatment under local anaesthetic tomorrow," said Walbridge today.

"I was probably a bit nave to think I would be back quite as quickly and although I hope to go back to work after the bank holiday, it now looks as though it will be the end of June before I can play cricket again. Even then I will have to pass an eye test beforehand.

"It's frustrating, but they say patience is a virtue and I know I am really in no condition to play at the moment. I went up to watch Bournemouth play last week and I couldn't pick the ball up from the boundary so it would be stupid to play.

"I won't be able to wear my contact lenses for three months so I'll have to wear glasses if I do play again this season. But when I think that potentially I could have lost my sight, I'll consider it a bonus if I do play again this season."

* Walbridge said he will be keeping his fingers crossed that his former club Dorchester recover from their poor start to the Dorset Premier League season and stay in the county's top flight.

"You have to admire what they are doing in giving youngsters the chance to gain experience at that level," he said. "But they need to stay in the top division and I just hope they get stronger as the season progresses and pick up enough points to avoid dropping into Division One."

* Dorset will choose from 12 players for their Minor Counties Championship opener against Wales at Dean Park, starting on Sunday at noon.

Dorset (from): Treagus, Thurgood, Park, Cowley, Deakin, Lamb, Keates, Pineo, Ford, Kitzinger, Mixer, Worrad. Scorer: Drew.