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EX-Premier League footballer allays fears after bizarre incident of being run over by pitch roller
20th September, 2026 05:05 PM
Former England winger Andros Townsend joked that playing Stoke away “wasn’t so bad after all” following a bizarre incident in Thailand in which he was run over by a pitch roller.
The 35-year-old former Tottenham, Luton and Crystal Palace forward plays for PT Prachuap in Thai League 1.
Heavy pitch roller
Townsend was warming up before a match at Pattani on Saturday when a member of staff appeared to lose control of a heavy pitch roller. Townsend’s left leg briefly got stuck under the vehicle, but he was unhurt.
He came off the bench late on in a 3-0 win. Townsend, who won 13 caps for England, made light of the incident on Instagram, referencing one of his recent posts in which he compared a sun-drenched Thai away trip with previous visits to Stoke’s Bet365 Stadium.
He wrote: “It turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad after all. Swipe to see why.”
In widely circulated footage, the slow-moving vehicle rolled over his legs as his teammates reacted with shock and concern. The ex-Palace winger attempted to push the roller off him before the driver got out to assist.
Pictures taken by local agencies appeared to show a cut and bruising on Townsend’s thigh, but he confirmed following the game that he was unharmed and joked about the incident.
Just another day in football
He re-posted a video of the collision on Instagram accompanied by the caption: “Just another day in Thai Football” (adding that he was fine!).
PT Prachuap won Saturday’s game 3-0, with the Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate appearing from the bench late on.
Townsend’s EPL stints
He joined Prachuap from fellow Thai side Kanchanaburi Power and has played three times this season, having moved to Thailand following a spell in Turkey with Antalyaspor.
Townsend previously made 291 Premier League appearances across spells with Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Everton, and Luton Town, the highlights of a career spanning 17 different clubs. He was also capped 13 times by England between 2013 and 2016.
