Andros Townsend came frighteningly close to suffering a serious injury after being struck by a piece of pitch-maintenance machinery in an extraordinary incident.
The former England winger currently plays in Thailand and was accidentally driven over by a pitch roller during the warm-up before PT Prachuap’s 3-0 victory against Pattani FC.
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Video circulating online shows Prachuap’s players going through their pre-match preparations when the incident occurred. A roller, operated by a driver, can be seen travelling across the field before hitting Townsend as he attempted an aerial backheel.
Several of his teammates immediately ran towards him, with some appearing shocked as the 35-year-old was left underneath the heavy machinery.
Remarkably, Townsend appeared to avoid any major injury and was eventually introduced from the bench in stoppage time, with the result already effectively secured.
🤯 Andros Townsend has been involved in an unfortunate accident while warming up for PT Prachup before their Thai Premier League game vs. Pattani.
He didn’t get badly injured but was on the bench and played just 1 minute in their 3-0 win. pic.twitter.com/K9Ty9VAxRd
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) September 19, 2026
The bizarre episode is likely to generate plenty of questions for Townsend in the days ahead, given just how dangerous the incident appeared.
It is the latest chapter in the former Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town player’s career in the Far East, having moved from Turkish club Antalyaspor to Kanchanaburi Power in Thailand’s second tier in 2025.
The Tottenham academy product has only recently joined Prachuap and was making his third appearance for the club.
After featuring from the start in the opening games against Rayong and Sukhothai, Townsend was named among the substitutes for this encounter. Prachuap’s convincing victory lifted them into second place in the table.
The 13-time England international attracted significant attention when his move to Thailand was announced. However, speaking to talkSPORT in 2025, Townsend revealed what ultimately influenced his decision to move there.
“Towards the back end of last season, I was playing in Turkey, and I hadn’t been paid a few months’ 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 Marlon [my agent] I don’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.”
