Andros Townsend calls being run over by pitch roller in Pattani 'terrifying'

Former England winger Andros Townsend said being run over by a pitch roller in Pattani while warming up for a match on Saturday in Thailand was "terrifying" and that he escaped with only a few bumps and bruises; he later came off the bench late on in a 3-0 win.

The 35-year-old, who moved to Thailand in 2025 when he joined Kanchanaburi Power and is now with PT Prachuap in Thai League 1, is a former Tottenham, Luton and Crystal Palace forward and won 13 caps for England. He was warming up for the match in Pattani when the incident occurred and has discussed it publicly for the first time on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored.

Townsend described a member of staff appearing to lose control of a heavy pitch roller and said his left leg briefly became trapped under the vehicle; he was not seriously hurt. He said he was lucky to only escape from under the roller with a few "bumps and bruises" and that he managed to continue involvement in the match afterwards.

Speaking on the programme, Townsend said: "Every time I see it, I'm cringing, I'm in disbelief," and added, "It's horrible to watch back and to see what could have been, thankfully I was fortunate I did manage to fall onto the floor at the right time, so nothing snapped as the roller went over me." He said the footage made him feel lucky at what might otherwise have occurred.

Townsend recalled noticing two rollers positioned either side of the pitch during the warm-up and thinking it was unusual: "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. Didn't think anything of it," he said. "The next I saw him was when I was literally underneath him and thankfully no serious damage. A couple of bumps and bruises but managed to walk away unscathed, luckily."

He also recounted his team-mates' reaction and his own effort to remove the roller, saying: "They (his team-mates) were very surprised that I continued the warm-up. They were telling me to go to the doctor," and, "It was quite heavy, but I was able to kind of lift [it], force it off me. So when it was completely on me, I was getting crushed a little bit." Townsend described using his left arm to relieve pressure and receiving assistance from team-mates to lift the roller, concluding, "but at that moment where it was crushing my left leg, it was quite terrifying, I must say."

Expressing concern for his surgically treated left knee and ankle, Townsend said: "I thought, either my left ankle was going to snap or my left knee is going to snap. I thought I was done. I was very fortunate that I was able to hobble away and recover within a few minutes." He later referenced the episode on Instagram with the caption: "It turns out Stoke away wasn't so bad after all."

Townsend said the incident would not stop him from playing, stating that it was "definitley not going to stop me from continuing."