Apres Planet March '15 | Page 8

THIS IS NOT A CHAIR. 9 SPORT The Curious Case of the Crippling Coffee Table (and other stories) It is a time travelling device programmed to take you to the year when you become CEO... By Richard Williams Whether courting disaster by engaging in hand-to-face combat like the English football captain did recently or simply putting your feet up (yes, really...), sports stars are as susceptible as the rest of us when it comes to being the victim of freak accidents. After watching the now-infamous leaked video of Mr Rooney falling to his kitchen floor like Amir Khan after a night on the tiles, we thought it only fair to bring you the best of the rest... Silver Chair straining a tendon behind his knee and was out for some time. With a substantial increase in wages following his move to Manchester Utd a voked me”, explained a fum- price of gas had been accelerating Christian, “by farting all ing recently, forgetting to apply the time”. the handbrake proved even more costly, and the soccer star manRonnie Lott – unless you’re aged to run into the NFL you’ve probably never heard of him. However, next month marks the 29th anniversary of something quite remarkable for the former 49er. After colliding with an opponent, his left pinkie finger was not in a good way. In fact, it required fairly urgent surgery which would have almost certainly ended his season. Unable bear the idea of temporarily not Ever Banega, proving that he can park his car now. playing with his pals, Ronnie took the courageous and tru- himself over, sidelined for Ever. ly mind-boggling step of hav- Well for, the next few months ing the finger amputated so he anyway. could resume the season. God Bless America. And finally... Enner Valencia is a recent victim of the footballer’s curse. In March 2015 the West Ham United striker required stitches in his big toe as he had suffered a “deep laceration” having trodden on a fragment of a broken china cup. The catering team at Upton Park have allegedly been put on gardening leave. In unconfirmed reports his manager, Samuel Allardyce, has been quoted angrily dismissing the story as “a storm in a teacup”. The inquest continues... Rio tells David the tale of his tendon year later, he was able to afford better quality furniture Back in 2001, Rio Ferdinand, at at Apres (we jest...). the time the world’s most expensive defender, was watching his Sascha Bender (we swear we telly box and decided to put his didn’t make that up!) from feet up. On the coffee table. Dan- the German giants Stuttgart gerous move... Rio remained Kickers was once punched in in the same position for some the face by teammate - and length of time, presumably en- Rooney wannabe - Christian grossed in back to back episodes Okpala. His reason was simof Song of Praise, and ended up ple: “He permanently pro- Ronnie Lott: not related to Pixie Ever Banega, an Argentine footballer (but then you knew that, didn ’t you), had his season wiped out by his own car. Yes, poor Senor Banega stopped off for petrol on his way home from a training session in 2014. Whilst the