Andros Townsend Survives Scary Incident with Pitch Roller

Andros Townsend has survived some hostile away days in his career, but nothing quite like this.

The former England winger was warming up for PT Prachuap in Thai League 1 when he was accidentally run over by a pitch roller before a match at Pattani on Saturday.

As Townsend jogged along the touchline, a member of the ground staff appeared to lose control of the heavy machine. It veered towards him, clipped him, and his left leg briefly became trapped underneath the roller.

Remarkably, the 35-year-old emerged unhurt. No stretcher, no lengthy treatment. He got back to his feet, finished his preparations and later came off the bench in a 3-0 win.

A scare, then a shrug, then three points.

Townsend, who won 13 caps for England and previously played for Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Luton, chose humour over horror when he reflected on the incident. On Instagram, he joked that playing Stoke away “wasn't so bad after all”, leaning into an earlier post where he had compared a sun-soaked Thai away trip with the more familiar cold, windswept visits to Stoke's Bet365 Stadium.

This time, the sun was out, the result was comfortable, and the only real danger came from a wayward piece of machinery.