Andros Townsend's Close Call in Thailand: A Surreal Incident

Andros Townsend has had some tough away days in his career. Stoke on a cold, wet afternoon was always near the top of the list. Not anymore.

The former England winger escaped a freak accident in Thailand after being run over by a pitch roller while warming up for PT Prachuap.

Townsend, now 35 and playing in Thai League 1, was preparing for a match at Pattani on Saturday when chaos broke out on the touchline. A member of staff appeared to lose control of a heavy roller used to treat the playing surface. In a split second, it veered into Townsend.

His left leg was briefly trapped under the machine. It looked horrible. It sounded worse. But somehow, he walked away unhurt.

No stretcher. No hospital dash. Just a deep breath and a shake of the head.

Townsend later came off the bench in the closing stages as PT Prachuap wrapped up a 3-0 win, turning what could have been a serious incident into a surreal footnote to a comfortable victory.

The winger, capped 13 times by England and formerly of Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Luton, chose humour over horror in the aftermath. On Instagram, he joked that playing away at Stoke “wasn't so bad after all,” a nod to a recent post in which he had contrasted a sun-drenched Thai away day with those famously grim trips to the Bet365 Stadium.

He has seen a lot in a long career. But nearly getting flattened by a pitch roller in Thailand? That’s a new one, even for him.