Andros Townsend recalls ‘terrifying’ moment he was run over by pitch roller in Thailand | OneFootball

Andros Townsend has recalled a “terrifying” incident when he was run over by an out-of-control pitch roller in Thailand, saying, “I thought I was done”.

The former England winger, who now plays for Thai League 1 side PT Prachuap, was warming up at half-time during a match Saturday when a member of staff handling a pitch roller lost control of the machine.

Townsend’s left leg got stuck underneath it but he was able to push the machine off him with some assistance and escaped injury. He then continued with the warm-up to the astonishment of his teammates, later coming off the bench as PT Prachuap beat Pattani 3-0.

Speaking on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored, Townsend - who formerly played for Luton, Tottenham and Crystal Palace - said: “Every time I see it, I'm cringing, I'm in disbelief.

“It's horrible to watch back and to see what could have been, thankfully I was fortunate. I did manage to fall onto the floor at the right time, so nothing snapped as the roller went over me and I'm here today to laugh about it and to tell the story.

“It was quite heavy, but I was able to kind of lift [it], force it off me. So when it was completely on me, I was getting crushed a little bit.

“I was able to get my left arm up and relieve some of the pressure, and then I was able to get my team-mates around me who were able to lift it, and I was able to squeeze out but at that moment where it was crushing my left leg, it was quite terrifying, I must say.”

He added that he was surprised to see the rollers pitchside in the first place: “I remember thinking to myself 'I've never seen that before in my career, what are they doing?' But we got called to warm-up. Didn't think anything [more] of it.

“The next I saw him was when I was literally underneath him and thankfully no serious damage. A couple of bumps and bruises but managed to walk away unscathed, luckily."

The 35-year-old said his teammates, who were pictured recoiling in shock and horror in footage of the incident, told him to get checked over rather than carrying on.

But he added: “I've been around the block, I've had my setbacks, I've had my injury issues -- a roller's definitely not going to stop me from continuing, that's for sure.

“I was thinking I was done. It was up my ankle which I've had operated on, tt was up my left knee which I've had operated on. I thought, either my left ankle's going to snap or my left knee's going to snap. I thought I was done. I was very fortunate that I was able to hobble away and recover within a few minutes.”