Colchester and Clacton Physiotherapist Craig Fowlie has swapped his local clinics for the Aspire centre in the Middle East this week, looking after the Olympic hopefuls within the GB Table Tennis squad.

The physio, who is based at Colchester Physiotherapy on Manor Road, bagged a week abroad with the team in the final Olympic qualifying event, in the heat of Doha, Qatar, after a successful stint with the squad at the National Championships.

Craig was given the honour of ensuring the athletes are in fine fettle for the desert challenge where the world’s players are making last-ditch efforts to qualify automatically for London 2012.

Craig said: “Unfortunately it means I have had to cancel a few clinics, but all my patients have been really understanding, and so many of them got in touch before I travelled to wish me good luck.

“I’ll have to work even harder when I get back to make it up to them.”