by Alex Hoad

Sheppey Paralympic table tennis player Ross Wilson has vowed to come back stronger after a three-month injury nightmare in time for this year’s European Championships.

The Minster youngster (pictured) claimed bronze in the class 6-8 team event at the London 2012 Olympics after a semi-final defeat in the singles but the 17-year-old revealed he played through the pain barrier with a worsening shoulder condition.

Wilson – based at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield – has been out of action since mid-March and will not defend his singles title in the Slovenian Open in Lasko, which starts on Tuesday.

He is instead targeting a July return in time for the European Championships in Italy in September.

The Howard TTC member said: "I’ve had an injury for about a month and still got two months of recovery. It’s my shoulder. I’ve overused it playing and it keeps getting injured. I’m taking the next two months out.

"I don’t want it hanging around leading up to the World Championships and the next Paralympics. Hopefully, I can start back at the beginning of July so I’ll be good to play the Europeans in Italy in September.

"I don’t think I’ll fall behind too much while I’m out but I don’t mind that much because I’ll come back stronger."