Run over by a lawn roller on the pitch: Andros Townsend speaks about bizarre accident

The 35-year-old attacker, now with PT Prachuap in Thai League 1, escaped with only minor knocks before the away game in Pattani thanks to a split-second evasive move. A member of staff had apparently lost control of a heavy piece of equipment and the roller caught the lower left side of Townsend's body. Even so, the veteran still played and was involved late on in his club's 3-0 win.

Looking back on it, the former Premier League player described the moment as deeply unsettling on the programme "Football Uncensored": "Every time I watch it, it sends shivers down my spine. I can hardly believe it. It's terrible to watch it again and realise what could have happened."

His quick reaction spared the Briton a serious injury: "Luckily, I was fortunate enough to manage to throw myself to the ground at exactly the right moment, so that nothing was broken when the roller went over me."

Bizarre accident: Andros Townsend is run over by a pitch roller

Townsend had already noticed the roller before the warm-up. "I remember thinking: I've never seen that in my career before, what are they doing? But we were called out for the warm-up. I didn't think anything more of it," Townsend explained. "The next time I saw it, I was literally underneath it. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. A few bumps and bruises, but I got away unscathed."

The 13-cap England international can look back on a long career in the English top flight with Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Luton Town among the clubs he represented. Serious injuries repeatedly disrupted that career, which only heightened the initial concern.

His left knee and left ankle in particular had both been operated on in the past. "I thought either my left ankle was going to break or my left knee. I thought I was done for. I was very lucky that I was able to limp away from it and recover within a few minutes," the Englishman said.

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Andros Townsend jokes on Instagram after accident

Even on the pitch, he still tried to absorb the direct pressure from the heavy equipment: "It (the roller) was pretty heavy, but I somehow managed to lift it and push it away from me. When it was then completely on top of me, I was getting a little crushed. I was able to lift my left arm and relieve some pressure that way. Then I managed to gather my team-mates around me, who were able to lift the roller, and I could wriggle out. But at the moment it crushed my left leg, I have to say, it was pretty frightening."

Despite his team-mates urging him to stop the warm-up and get checked over, Townsend carried on. "My team-mates were very surprised that I carried on with the warm-up. They told me to go to the doctor," he reported. The incident is not expected to affect his move to Southeast Asia or the rest of his career. The accident will "definitely not stop him from carrying on".

Soon after the incident, Townsend posted on Instagram and referred back to an earlier post. In it, he had jokingly compared the pitch conditions at away games in Thailand with matches at Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium. He captioned his latest post: "Away at Stoke wasn't that bad after all."

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