Following the news that Liam Lawrence is a doubt for Stoke City’s match against Portsmouth after tripping over his dog, we look at some of the silliest football injuries:
1. Dave Beasant
The crazy keeper ruled himself out of action for two-and-a-half months after dropping a jar of salad cream on his feet during the 1993 pre-season. The then Southampton custodian ruptured ankle ligaments in the mishap.
2. Santiago Canizares
Similar story to Beasant except, as if to emphasise the cultural divide between England and Spain, the offending item was a bottle of aftershave rather than a condiment! A stray piece of glass from the bottle severed a tendon in the keeper’s toe forcing him to miss the 2002 World Cup.
3. Darren Barnard
In a similar story to Lawrence, the Barnsley man was ruled out for five months with knee ligament damage after slipping over in a puddle of his puppy’s urine.
4. Chic Brodie
Another canine caper. The Brentford goalkeeper’s career was ended in October 1970 when a dog ran onto the pitch and collided with him. His kneecap was shattered and he had to hang-up his gloves.
5. Svein Grondalen
Putting the dog situation into perspective, the Norwegian international missed a match in the 1970s after colliding with a moose while out jogging.
6. Perry Groves
The Arsenal substitute knocked himself unconcious when he jumped up to celebrate a goal and headbutted the dugout.
7. Alan Wright
The pint-sized left-back strained his knee as he struggled to reach the accelerator in his Ferrari. He famously downgraded to a Rover 416 shortly afterwards!
8. David Batty
The former Leeds midfielder suffered a relapse of an old achilles problem when his toddler rode into the back of his ankle on a tricycle.
9. Kevin Kyle
The then Sunderland striker spent a night in hospital with scalded testicles. The big Scot had been preparing to feed his baby when the youngster knocked a jug of boiling water being used to heat a bottle into his father’s lap. A Sunderland insider remarked at the time that the striker was “walking like John Wayne”.
10. Darius Vassell
While at Aston Villa, the England international decided to put the DIY into DIY surgery when he used a power drill to cut through his toenail and drain a blister. He managed to pick up a nasy infection in the process.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
