THE REASON ASENSIO DIDN’T PLAY FOR REAL LAST NIGHT
REAL MADRID’S rising star Marco Asensio missed last night’ s Champions League opener due to an infection caused by . . . shaving his legs! Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane told reporters that the 21-year-old would not feature against APOEL Nicosia because of a pimple which prevented him from pulling his sock up.
Asensio has been in fine form for Real and Spain so far this season, but had to sit out last night’s victory at the Santiago Bernabeu due to the infected spot. He is now aiming to have recovered for the match against Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
The Spanish giants are looking for a third straight Champions League title this season, which would be a recordextending 13th in total.
It is not the first time that footballers have been sidelined due to bizarre injuries. Dave Beasant dropped a bottle of salad cream on his foot while at Chelsea in 1993, severing the tendon in his big toe and ruling him out for eight weeks.
Ex-England striker Darius Vassell once drilled through his toe nail with a power drill thinking it would relieve the pressure on a swollen toe when at Aston Villa. The attempt at DIY surgery succeeded only in giving the toe an infection which required medical attention.
While another ex-Villa man — Alan Wright — sprained his knee reaching for the accelerator in his Ferrari in 1996.