Andros Townsend's Hilarious Encounter with a Pitch Roller in Thailand

Andros Townsend has survived cold Tuesday nights at Stoke. On Saturday in Thailand, he survived something far stranger.

The former England winger, now with PT Prachuap in Thai League 1, was accidentally run over by a pitch roller during the warm-up before a match at Pattani. A clip of the incident rocketed around social media, showing the 35-year-old being knocked to the ground as the heavy machine clattered into him.

Townsend had been going through his pre-match routine when a member of Pattani’s staff appeared to lose control of the roller. It veered into the 13-cap England international, with his left leg briefly trapped underneath before the vehicle was brought to a halt.

Remarkably, he not only got back to his feet, he later came off the bench and played in Prachuap’s 3-0 victory.

Once the win was in the bag, the regular ITV pundit did what he does best off the pitch: he turned the whole thing into a joke. On Instagram, Townsend referenced a recent post where he had compared a sun-soaked away day in Thailand with the more familiar 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, pointing followers towards the now-viral footage.

Thai fans quickly leaned into the moment, with one post crowning him "The King of Memes in Thai League history." Townsend’s response was short and perfectly on brand: "trust me" – followed by four laughing emojis.

From Stoke’s wind and rain to dodging pitch rollers in Pattani, Townsend’s late-career adventure in Thailand is proving anything but dull.