Football can be beautiful, but equally bizarre, especially when it comes to injuries. Considering that frequent injuries are an occupational hazard of the sport, we can still never get used to certain kinds of injuries. But what if these injuries occurred outside the pitch and in the strangest way possible? Read on to know about 10 of the most surreal injuries that astounded the world football, and left the best of amused.
10. Frenkie de Jong
De Jong has proven himself to be an invaluable asset ever since the youngster made a surprise move to Barcelona. His brilliant performance against Napoli at the Champions League tie stands testament to this claim. Although, his fans noticed a strange bandage that wrapped the Dutch midfielder’s hand. It turned out; the Barcelona star has actually been stung by a bee before the game at Camp Nou. Ouch.
2. Chris Smalling
Looks like De Jong has not been the only one to experience some stinging. Even Chris Smalling faced the wrath of nature when the former Manchester United defender was stung by a jellyfish during his holiday to Bali. Under the effect of the sting, the player lost consciousness and struck his head. He did still manage to sign several autographs though, so things apparently weren’t as bad as they initially looked.
8. Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand may be a compelling figure on the field, but at home, when he rests easy, he can be careless. You’d know what we’re talking about once you hear this tale. The former Manchester United star once strained his knee tendons while playing PlayStation. This error rendered his knee ache like hell. Lesson learned lads; remember to stretch your legs after each FIFA game.
7. Michael Stensgaard
The injury of this Danish goalkeeper has to be the most bizarre of all. Michael was pushed to retirement when he sustained an acute shoulder injury. Rumor has it, the player suffered from the injury while folding an ironing board. We’re not kidding.
6. Sean Flynn
While tripping on the toys could hurt your foot sometimes, Sean Flynn begs to differ. The former English footballer once tripped on his son’s toys and split his lip open. Some of his toes were also heavily wounded. Bet his kid would always remember to keep his toys in place from now on.
5. Paulo Diogo
The incident of Paulo Diogo shows that at times, celebrating on the field with the other players is the best thing to do. The Swish midfielder, meanwhile, chose to celebrate a goal with the fans, but alas, the player’s wedding ring was caught on the fencing. This accident tore the top half of his finger and left his hand to bleed.
4. Santiago Canizares
Santiago has to be one of the unluckiest players in the history of football. Just when the former Valencia goalkeeper was about to get a chance at playing in the World Cup, the player dropped a bottle of aftershave on his foot injured himself. While an aftershave is one of the least harmful things on the planet, this time around, it proved to be deadly.
3. Leroy Lita
Stretching muscles can indeed lead to an injury. This is not something unheard of in the realm of football. But wounding your back while stretching on.. bed? Well, that’s a different story altogether. This exact unfortunate phenomenon happened with the Reading striker, Leroy Lita. While the tale of how he injured his back may seem amusing to you and us, but we’re sure it would’ve hurt the player at the time. Thus, a moment of respect.
2. Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen may be an injury-prone player, but he exceeded our expectations when he got injured in the strangest way. The Finnish star was once stuck in the eye by the ring-pull of a can of coke. The can was opened by a Malmo Sporting director, but we suppose that the man instantly regretted drawing the ring-pull. Cheers.
1. Darius Vassell
Darius Vassell brought his misfortune upon himself, there’s nobody to be blamed but him. The former England striker tried to rectify a blood blister on his toe, by drilling it. No jokes here. This man actually used an electric drill on his toe, thinking it would heal the blister. Not to be rude, but what was Darius Vassell thinking?
