Andros Townsend has lifted the lid on how he managed to escape unscathed after being run over by a pitch roller during a Thai top-flight match at the weekend.
The ex-England international Townsend joined Thai outfit PT Prachuap from Kanchanaburi Power in the summer and was warming up at half-time in the side’s clash with Pattani when the horrifying incident played out.
Townsend, 35, formerly of Tottenham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, appeared oblivious to the slow-moving vehicle approaching him from behind while performing passing drills by the touchline at Pattani Province Stadium.
There was a look of panic and horror on the faces of Townsend’s team-mates in the immediate vicinity as the veteran winger’s left leg was trapped awkwardly between the giant roller and the turf.
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The driver in question immediately leaped from his seat, with screams heard in the audio of the viral footage, before Townsend somehow returned to his feet and limped away from the scene.
Remarkably, the ex-Spurs forward went on to feature in the second half of Saturday’s Thai League 1 contest, replacing Jesper Nyholm in stoppage time to help Prachuap emerge with a 3-0 victory away from home.
Videos of the terrifying ordeal spread like wildfire across social media and Townsend was even able to see the funny side in the aftermath of Prachuap’s win, taking to Instagram to laugh off the episode.
Discussing the incident properly for the first time on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Townsend was asked how he felt when the roller came over the top of him, to which he replied: ‘There were no real feelings because I didn’t see it coming.
‘We were going out to warm-up and I saw two rollers on either side of the pitch.
‘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 and I didn’t think anything of it.
‘The next time I saw him was when I was literally underneath him and thankfully there was no serious damage.
‘A couple of bumps and bruises but I managed to walk away unscathed luckily.’
Townsend added: ‘Literally every time I see it I’m cringing, I’m in disbelief.
‘My kids thought it was AI! I literally had to explain to them for the next ten minutes that it was real.’
Townsend believes the timing of his fall was crucial in him being able to come away with any severe injuries.
‘It’s horrible to watch back and to see what could have been but like I said, thankfully I was fortunate,’ he continued.
‘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 tell the story.’
With the help of some of his quick-thinking team-mates, Townsend was able to relieve some of the pressure by forcing the vehicle upwards before his leg was ‘crushed’ by the weight.
‘It was quite heavy but I was able to kind of lift the force off me so when it was completely on me, I was getting crushed a little bit,’ he went on.
‘But as I was able to push it up as it fell on me, I was able to get my left arm and relieve some of the pressure which made it alright.
‘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 that moment where it was crushing my left leg, it was quite terrifying I must say.’
Asked how his team-mates reacted to the incident, Townsend replied: ‘They were very surprised that I continued the warm-up and they were telling me to go to the doctor, they were calling for the stretcher.
‘But listen, I’ve been around the block, I’ve had my setbacks and injury issues, a roller definitely isn’t going to stop me from continuing, that’s for sure, so I was able to carry on.’
Townsend is unsure what happened to the driver of the pitch roller in the aftermath, but is confident he will have received some sort of punishment behind the scenes.
‘To be honest, I don’t even want to think about what’s happened to this guy,’ he laughed.
‘I didn’t complain, I didn’t press charges, I’ve not contacted any lawyers.
‘I’m sure he’s been disciplined behind the scenes.’
Townsend will no doubt be looking to stay well away from any pitch rollers ahead of Prachuap’s next match with Chiangrai United.
Prachuap’s victory this weekend saw the club move level on points at the top of the table with Uthai Thani, Rayong, Port FC and Ayutthaya United after three games.
Explaining his move to Thai football last year, Townsend told talkSPORT: ‘Towards the back end of last season I was playing in Turkey and I hadn’t been paid a few month’s salary.
‘The club said to me, “You can take your salary – but you’re never going to play for the club again”, so I took the salary.
‘I hadn’t played since March, got a bit frustrated, so in the summer I said to my agent that I didn’t care where I go, just take me somewhere nice, interesting and tropical.
‘He came back with one or two options in Europe but for some reason my gut was just really interested about the option in Thailand.’
Townsend began his professional career with Tottenham, where he broke out of the academy ranks to become a first-team regular – making 93 appearances in all competitions for the north London outfit.
The attacker went on to represent Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Everton and Luton Town in the Premier League before upping sticks for Turkey to sign for Antalyaspor in 2024.
He is a familiar faces to viewers of ITV having covered the 2022 World Cup, Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup as both a pundit and co-commentator.
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