Andros Townsend struck by pitch roller during halftime; later enters match
Townsend was struck by a motorised pitch roller during the halftime warm-up but returned to play as a late substitute.
Former England international Andros Townsend suffered a bizarre accident during the halftime warm-up of a Thai League match between Prachuap and Patani when a motorised pitch roller struck him and passed over his legs almost up to his waist.
The 35-year-old ex-Tottenham forward had stepped out of the designated warm-up area to feed a team-mate with the ball and did not notice a stadium worker operating the maintenance roller approaching from behind. The machine ran into Townsend, knocked him to the ground and then continued over his legs.
The driver immediately climbed down from the vehicle and attempted to lift the roller to free Townsend. Remarkably, the England international managed to get back on his feet and resume warming up.
Footage, comeback and final score
Video of the incident circulated widely on social media — one clip posted on September 19, 2026, showed a wider angle of the moment Townsend was hit by the roller. Despite the shock, Townsend later entered the match as a late substitute and Prachuap won 3-0.
After the game Townsend posted on Instagram and made light of the episode. He wrote: "Turns out that the trip to Stoke wasn't so bad after all."
The episode left fans and commentators astonished that the player escaped serious injury and was fit enough to take part in the closing minutes of the victory.
Photo: press material from the event
