EASTENDER Sid Owen was told by doctors he could have died if the golf ball that smashed him in the face had been just two inches higher.
The star, 48, needed emergency reconstructive surgery after it shattered his jaw and sent several teeth flying.
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Sid, who was on a detox holiday in Thailand, said: “One minute I’m playing a round and the next I’m in total agony and on my way to hospital.
“But actually I’ve almost been lucky because they’ve told me if it had hit me two inches higher up I’d probably be dead from that sort of impact.”
However, Sid — rumoured to be returning to EastEnders as much-loved Ricky Butcher — is still in crippling agony five weeks after the freak accident.
He is awaiting brain scan results and has been told he cannot fly home — leaving him alone and terrified abroad on super-strong painkillers.
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Keen golfer Sid told last night how he was playing with a friend on January 17 when a ball ricocheted off a tree into his face at close range.
He said: “I was stood about ten feet away when it hit me, hard, and of course it hurt like hell, but it was the shock factor too.
“I remember seeing two teeth fly straight out of my mouth but it turned out to be a fracture in my face and a broken jaw, along with another tooth embedded into my jaw.”
Sid was taken to hospital from the upmarket Siam Country Club Old Course near Bangkok for emergency facial surgery.
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He recalled: “I had to have a bone graft, followed by several rounds of dental surgery because it was too much damage to try to treat it all at once.”
Sid has so far undergone 15 hours of agonising reconstructive treatment to repair his face — with more due today.
He is also awaiting brain scan results to check for underlying damage – and has no idea how long a full recovery may take.
He said: “It has just been five weeks of hell, total hell. I came here for a detox to relax, as I have been doing sober for January annually for 20 years, and I was nearly ready to come home when it happened.”
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But he went on: “Five weeks later I’m still here and I need more treatment. The doctors said I wasn’t ready to fly, but my visa expired.
“So I will have to go home soon because they will only give me an emergency extension for one more week – which will then mean flying back to have the surgery finished.
“Even then there’s no way of knowing how long a full recovery will take or if there will be long-term problems — something like this changes you as well.
"I’m still waiting on some brain scan results but the thought of there being a problem on something like that doesn’t even bear thinking about.”
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The freak injury has already cost Sid acting work and caused him to miss auditions.
The soaring costs of staying there plus his treatment has run into several thousands of pounds. And, as well as six teeth, he has also lost almost two stone because he has struggled to eat.
Sid now faces a battle with his insurance company to cover the costs of his dental work – after he was given new implants on the advice of his surgeon instead of cheaper dentures.
The firm also warned him that he would not be covered if he contracts coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly throughout the Far East.
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He explained: “I’m having to pay it myself at the moment and it is costing a lot of money just for hospital bills, dental bills, accommodation – and I’ve had to pay for an extension for my visa.
"But I don’t want to have dentures for the rest of my life, f*** that.
“I don’t really know anyone out here now, so I’m stuck totally on my own. It’s depressing, especially when you can’t sleep because of the pain.
"So you just lie awake thinking about it and feeling isolated and very low. It has been a very dark period.
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“I’m just in pure shock at the moment, I couldn’t have ever dreamt this would happen and it’s made me completely depressed.
"I’ve lost 12kg, almost two stone, because I can’t eat, and the insurers have told me they’re having to deal with lots of extra travel claims and problems because of coronavirus.
“On top of that they told me that if I was to pick up the virus while I’m out here then I won’t be covered for it. It just feels like one thing after another at the moment.
“I’ve never even really had to take antibiotics or serious painkillers in my life but now I’m relying on them to get through.”
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Speculation has been rife that Ricky is due to return to EastEnders after bosses re-cast his ex partner Bianca, played by Patsy Palmer.
He said: “I can’t really disclose anything at the moment, but I have had to turn stuff down and some auditions due to it so it is really costing me.
“All I want to do is get home.”
The star is close friends with a host of celebrities including Adele, her ex Simon Konecki and Alan Carr, and thanked his pals for their support.
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“I’m pretty well connected but it’s not helping me now, they’re not in f***ing Thailand!
“I’ll be back in England soon but I have no clue how long this is going to impact me for. I’ve got to just take it one step at a time.”
Schoolboy's rise to fame
SID Owen was a schoolboy when he landed the role of Ricky Butcher in EastEnders in 1988.
Ricky had a stormy relationship with Bianca, and fans loved them so much they got a spin-off show.
But Bianca eventually gave him the boot and he left Walford in 2012 to run a restaurant in France.
Sid starred on I’m a Celebrity in 2005, Strictly in 2012 and The Jump in 2016.
He has been engaged twice but never married.
In 2018 he was thrown off a flight when he got into a spat with a fellow passenger.
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Ex-EastEnders star Sid Owen has jaw shattered and six teeth smashed out by a golf ball on Thai getaway - The Sun
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