MasterChef judge George Calombaris hospitalised for eye injury

Celebrity chef George Calombaris has been forced to wear a pirate patch after injuring his right eye — and it didn’t happen in the kitchen.

MasterChef judge George Calombaris was hospitalised on Saturday after suffering an injury to his right eye.

The celebrity chef shared a photo of himself wearing a pirate patch on Instagram, explaining to fans that he was rushed to Melbourne’s Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital after getting hit in the eye while playing a game of squash.

“A massive thank you to the amazing eye and ear hospital,” Calombaris wrote.

“The team are legends. A huge lesson for me today: wear protective glasses when playing squash.”

George Calombaris was hospitalised on Saturday for an eye injury. Picture: Instagram

It comes just a week after Calombaris announced the closure of the jewel in the crown of his empire, his The Press Club restaurant on Melbourne’s Flinders St, after 12 years.

The celebrated restaurant will plate up its final meal on June 29.

“If I said I wasn’t emotional or that I’m not sad about it, I would be lying,” Calombaris told the Herald Sun.

The chef recently announced the closure of his restaurant The Press Club. Picture: Supplied

“But you know what, it’s OK. Sometimes good things have to come to an end.

“The actual venue is not closing,” Calombaris explained.

“No one is losing their jobs, it’s the closing of a chapter, that’s the way I look at it and we will celebrate over the next three months.”

He doesn’t know what will replace the fine-dining institution.

Calombaris has grown his restaurants into a hospitality empire, putting Greek food with a unique twist on the Melbourne map, and becoming a household name in Australia thanks to his role as a judge on MasterChef.