Andros Townsend Survives Pitch Roller Accident in Thailand

Andros Townsend has lived through bad tackles, serious surgeries and long rehab rooms. But nothing quite like this.

The 35-year-old PT Prachuap forward was run over by a pitch roller before an away game in Pattani – and still played in a 3-0 win.

Townsend told the story on the show "Football Uncensored", admitting the footage still shakes him.

"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."

The incident unfolded in seconds. A member of staff appeared to lose control of a heavy roller, which smashed into the lower left side of Townsend’s body. Instinct took over.

"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."

He had actually clocked the machine earlier.

"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," he said. "The next time I saw it, I was literally underneath it."

The contact left him with bumps and bruises, but no fractures, no ligament tears. Given his history, that mattered. The winger with 13 England caps has already endured a catalogue of injuries across spells with Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Luton Town. His left knee and left ankle, both previously operated on, were the first thing on his mind.

"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 roller didn’t just clip him. It pinned him.

"It was pretty heavy, but I somehow managed to lift it and push it away from me," Townsend recalled. "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."

His team-mates urged him to stop, head straight for the doctor, forget the warm-up. Townsend refused. He finished the drills and later featured late on as PT Prachuap cruised to a 3-0 victory.

"My team-mates were very surprised that I carried on with the warm-up. They told me to go to the doctor," he said.

The club does not expect the accident to derail his move to Thai League 1 or alter the twilight of his career. Townsend is adamant it will "definitely not stop him from carrying on".

And he has already managed to turn the shock into a joke. Shortly after the scare, he went on Instagram, referencing an earlier post where he had compared some Thai away pitches to the notoriously unforgiving conditions at Stoke City’s Bet365 Stadium.

His new caption landed with a grim little punchline: "Away at Stoke wasn't that bad after all."