Andros Townsend's Bizarre Encounter with Pitch Roller in Thailand

Andros Townsend has survived cold Tuesday nights at Stoke. Now he can add something even stranger to the list: getting run over by a pitch roller in Thailand.

The former England winger, now with PT Prachuap in Thai League 1, was involved in a bizarre pre-match incident on Saturday night ahead of a fixture at Pattani. As Townsend warmed up on the touchline, a member of the home staff appeared to lose control of a heavy pitch roller, which then clattered into the 35-year-old.

The roller caught Townsend and his left leg was briefly trapped under the machine, prompting gasps from those nearby. Footage of the collision quickly spread on social media, with many fearing the worst for the ex-Tottenham and Crystal Palace attacker.

Somehow, he escaped serious injury. Townsend not only stayed with the squad, he came off the bench late on in Prachuap’s 3-0 win.

Once the three points were in the bag, the regular ITV pundit did what he does best off the pitch: he turned the chaos into content. Jumping on Instagram, Townsend poked fun at the incident by revisiting one of his recent running jokes – the contrast between Thailand’s sunshine and the infamous chill of Stoke’s bet365 Stadium.

“It turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad after all. Swipe to see why,” he wrote on his Instagram story, alongside the clip of the runaway roller.

Another Thai social media post crowned him “The King of Memes in Thai League history”. Townsend leaned straight into it, replying: “trust me” followed by four laughing emojis.

Stoke away used to be the punchline. In Townsend’s new life, even that looks tame.