A YOUNG Guernsey table tennis star has had to go under the surgeon’s knife while at the European Youth Championships in Italy. On Saturday night, Matthew Stubbington (pictured) was rushed from the Terni table tennis centre to hospital in acute pain with appendicitis.

The following evening the 15-year-old was operated on and had his appendix removed. Stubbington is now recovering in hospital and is due to be released either today or tomorrow.

‘He’s in a little bit of pain but he’s OK,’ said the team’s coach, Becks O’Keefe. Stubbington had been competing with Oliver Langlois in the cadet boys’ competition.

On Friday and early Saturday, they had lost all their group matches with Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Croatia. However, they then went on to push Wales all the way before losing 3-2. With Stubbington no longer able to play, it meant that they had to pull out of the competition when they were due to face Armenia, Cyprus and Scotland in the next round.