Andros Townsend escapes serious injury after pitch roller crash in Thailand

Andros Townsend was run over by a motorised pitch roller in Thailand, then came off the bench in a 3-0 win.

The incident happened on Saturday as the winger warmed up with his PT Prachuap teammates before a Thai League 1 fixture, Thailand's top division, away at Pattani. A Pattani staff member appeared to lose control of the roller before it crashed into Townsend, according to The Guardian.

His left leg was briefly trapped under the vehicle. Footage of the collision spread quickly online. It looked alarming.

Townsend, 35, avoided serious injury. That was confirmed after the match, with Reuters reporting the roller was motorised and that he was struck during the warm-up.

For anyone meeting him for the first time, Townsend is a familiar face from English football. He previously played for Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace and earned 13 caps for England. He now plays for PT Prachuap in Thai League 1.

Remarkably, the day did not end there. Townsend came on as a late substitute as Prachuap beat Pattani FC 3-0. He walked away from one of the strangest warm-ups of his career and finished the evening on the pitch.

He saw the funny side afterwards. “It turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad after all. Swipe to see why,” he wrote on Instagram Story.

Stoke away needs a little translation. In England it is shorthand for a cold, tough trip to an unforgiving ground. Townsend has played through plenty of those.

What makes this stand out is the sheer unlikeliness of it. Players worry about tackles, twists and strains. Nobody expects the groundstaff’s equipment to be the hazard. This time, luck held and a scare became a story he can laugh about.