'I thought I was done' - Former England star Andros Townsend opens up on 'terrifying' moment he was run over by pitch roller in Thailand

Townsend experienced a truly shocking moment when he was run over by a pitch roller in Thailand. The 35-year-old, who now plays for Thai league outfit PT Prachuap, was participating in a routine half-time 'rondo' when the heavy machinery suddenly struck him.

Astonishingly, Townsend escaped serious injury during the bizarre accident. His team-mates were left reeling in complete shock, turning away in horror and grabbing their heads as the former Tottenham forward momentarily disappeared underneath the slow-moving vehicle.

Speaking on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored, Townsend admitted the alarming footage is difficult to watch back. He revealed that even his own family struggled to believe the viral clip was genuine.

"Every time I see it, I'm cringing, I'm in disbelief," Townsend admitted. "When I sent it to my kids, my kids thought it was AI. I had to explain to them for the next 10 minutes that it was real.

"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 and I'm here today to laugh about it and to tell the story.

"I was thinking I was done. It was up my ankle which I've had operated on. It was up my left knee which I've had operated on. I thought, either my left ankle's going to snap or my left knee's 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."

Prior to the half-time warm-up, Townsend had spotted the machinery stationed on the side of the pitch. He recalled questioning their unusual presence before abruptly finding himself trapped underneath one of the heavy vehicles.

Fortunately, the winger managed to fall onto the floor at exactly the right time, preventing any bones from snapping. Despite frantic team-mates calling for a stretcher and medical staff, a resilient Townsend simply brushed off his minor bumps and bruises to continue warming up.

"At halftime we were going out to warm up and I've seen two rollers on the side of the pitch," he added. "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.

"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."

"They were very surprised that I continued the warm-up. They were telling me to go to the doctor, they were calling for the stretcher. But I've been around the block, I've had my setbacks, I've had my injury issues - a roller's definitely not going to stop me from continuing, that's for sure."

Despite enduring such a harrowing ordeal on the touchline, Townsend incredibly still featured in the match. He came off the substitutes' bench late on to help PT Prachuap secure a comfortable 3-0 victory against Pattani.

The former Tottenham and Everton star is clearly in good spirits following his narrow escape. He has since joked that he will not be pressing charges against the oblivious driver of the pitch roller.

Taking to Instagram, Townsend even found time to playfully mock his past experiences in English football. Sharing the unbelievable footage with his followers, he quipped: "It turns out Stoke away wasn't so bad after all."