PUCKS, LIONS AND CHAINSAWS: BIZARRE INJURIES SUFFERED BY SPORTSMEN
Carl Frampton has been forced to pull out of his fight against Emmanuel Dominguez this weekend after suffering a hand injury in what he described as a "freak accident".
The Belfast boxer, who was due to face Mexican Dominguez in Philadelphia on Saturday, said a large ornament had fallen on his left hand in a hotel lobby, fracturing his fifth metacarpal.
Here, we look at some other sportsmen who have suffered unusual injuries.
ANDRES GUTIERREZ
This isn't the first time a bizarre injury has laid ruin to Carl Frampton's fight plans. In 2017, a bout against Gutierrez was called off after the Mexican injured himself by slipping in the shower on the eve of the bout.
Gutierrez suffered facial cuts, bruising to the head and broke two teeth in the incident.
RORY McILROY
McIlroy suffered a "total rupture" of his left ankle nine days before the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, forcing him to withdraw. The defending champion posted a picture on his Instagram account of him wearing a protective boot on his left leg after, in his own words, "a soccer kickabout with friends on Saturday".
MARTY MCGRATH
The Fermanagh man is made of stern stuff. McGrath overcame two heart operations in 2006, a battle with testicular cancer in 2008, and even suffered a fractured jaw when he was struck by a digger bucket on the family farm in 2007. Through it all he remained a committed member of the Fermanagh senior squad.
PADDY MURRAY
"A roof slate falls, hits you on the big toe and you miss an All-Ireland final. Right. Pull the other one, Paddy…" wrote Brendan Crossan in a profile of the St Galls man.
On the painful memory, Murray said: “I was in my garden playing with my son, Daniel, who was eight-years-old. Sometimes the ball would land behind the nets in front of the garage.
"On this particular occasion I stepped behind the nets to get the ball and a slate fell from the roof. The chances of that happening, the timing…
"If it hit me on the arm it wouldn’t have been a big deal. If it hit me on the head I would have had a bump.
"But it hit me on the right foot. As a goalkeeper, hitting kick-outs was a key part of the game. It broke a bone in my foot. As soon as it hit me, I knew - I knew it was broke. I knew by the pain.”
RIO FERDINAND
Ferdinand was once the world's most expensive defender, a feat surpassed this week by new United signing Harry Maguire. But during his spell at Leeds, the defender picked up an injury whilst watching television. Ferdinand had his foot up on a coffee table for a few hours and ended up injuring a tendon behind his knee.
SCOTT BALDWIN
Wales hooker Baldwin sat out the Ospreys' PRO14 defeat against the Cheetahs in September 2017 because of a lion bite. The then 29-year-old was absent from the 44-25 loss after he was injured while attempting to stroke the caged animal at a game lodge in Bloemfontein. He later said he had needed four operations and was told he could have lost his hand.
WAYNE ROONEY
Rooney, then captain of England and Manchester United, caused controversy in 2015 when a video emerged of him boxing in his kitchen with former team-mate Phil Bardsley. A blow from Bardsley floored Rooney, who fell backwards on to the floor. After the video was aired, Rooney celebrated a goal against Tottenham by shadow boxing and then pretending to hit the deck. "I was in a house with some friends. Obviously I was caught on the wrong end of a punch, but I wasn't knocked out like it was reported," Rooney said.
LIAM LAWRENCE
The former Republic of Ireland international Liam Lawrence left then-Stoke manager Tony Pulis with an injury headache after tripping over his pet dog. Lawrence strained his ankle in the incident, much to the bemusement of Pulis.
JAMIE DONALDSON
Ryder Cup star Donaldson suffered a severe finger injury following a mishap with a chainsaw in January 2016. The Welshman, who claimed the decisive point as Europe defeated the United States in September 2014, posted a graphic photo on Twitter of what seemed to be a laceration to the little finger on his left hand. Above the image, he wrote: "So folks in my time off decided to have a fight with a chainsaw and lost! Oops!!"
PAULO DIOGO
Diogo was playing with Swiss side Servette and over-zealously celebrated an assist for a team-mate. He jumped up on the metal perimeter fence separating the fans from the pitch but his wedding ring caught in the barrier. As he jumped off the fence, much of his finger tore off along with the ring. To add insult to injury, the referee gave Diogo a yellow card for excessive time-wasting with his "celebrations".
KEVIN MCHUGH
A very similar fate to Diogo befell Finn Harps Kevin McHugh. McHugh was forced into early retirement after his wedding ring related-injury. He got his wedding ring caught in a fence that he was in the process of jumping over during a coaching session in Donegal. Recalling his trip to the hospital after the injury, McHugh said: "When I was in the car, I had to make a phone call to Mel, the other coach, because I realised I hadn’t got the finger with me and I needed it for hospital.
“I phoned him and said: “Could you go back up and get my finger on top of the fence,” and he said: “Are you serious?”
DAVID JAMES
Former England goalkeeper James was never afraid of standing out from the crowd, but he brought himself unwanted headlines when he injured his shoulder while out fishing, causing himself pain when he tried to land a monster carp. Some of James' injuries were not caused by other sports, though, for he once pulled a muscle in his back when reaching for the television remote control.
MARCO ASENSIO
The Real Madrid forward missed a Champions League game due to an infection caused by shaving his legs. Boss Zinedine Zidane told reporters ahead of Real's 3-0 victory over APOEL Nicosia in September 2017 that Asensio would not feature because of a pimple which prevented him from pulling up a sock.
SANTIAGO CANIZARES
The Spanish goalie missed the 2002 World Cup due to a freak accident at the team hotel. Canizares dropped a bottle of aftershave in the sink and a piece of glass fell to the floor and severed a tendon in his big toe.
LEE BURGE
Coventry goalkeeper Burge trained with a bandage on his head after he was struck by a puck while watching ice hockey last September. The then 25-year-old reportedly needed hospital treatment after being hit while he watched the Coventry Blaze's Elite League clash with the Sheffield Steelers.
