CORRIE KEN
Ex-footballer makes light of ordeal as he hands over charity cheque
FORMER Celtic star John Hartson says his middle name should be “Lucky” after his narrow escape in a horror golf buggy smash.
The ex-Wales striker was left with 48 stitches in a gaping wound on his scalp after the cart crashed head first into a tree at Peebles golf club.
The Daily Record told earlier this week how the crash happened after the driver pressed the accelerator instead of the brake on his way to the first tee.
Hartson, 43, was thrown out of the buggy at 25mph but his head was sliced open by the metal bar holding the Perspex windscreen in place.
He was rushed to hospital with blood streaming from his wound and could still need plastic surgery after doctors examine the extent of the scarring in the next 48 hours.
Hartson said: “It was frightening, I thought I was dead. I was passenger and we were heading downhill to the by gaRy Ralston g.ralston@dailyrecord.co.uk first tee when the driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake and we hit a tree head on.
“It was a really unfortunate incident that happened out of nothing. The driver was beside himself.
“I sliced my head open but it could have been across my face, had my eye out or even killed me. I tried to keep it quiet and that worked for four days before the story appeared on the front page of the Record.
“I’m still making headlines – can’t be bad.
“You go for a game of golf and expect to head home afterwards with a bit of a tan after a pleasant round, a chat with friends and a spot of lunch.
“I had just dropped my kids off at school and before I knew it, I was being stitched up in hospital. It was very, very unfortunate. My middle name is ‘Lucky’, I think. ”
In July 2009, four months after retiring from playing, former Arsenal and West Ham star Hartson was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had spread to his brain.
After successful treatment, the Livingston coach and BT pundit set up a charity, The John Hartson Foundation, to help others.
He was at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow yesterday donating a £20,000 cheque to the Schiehallion Appeal, which has now gone through the £1million barrier.
Hartson said: “The saving grace is the metal bar didn’t hit my brain.
“It was just a laceration of the skin so never actually went through to the skull, which is a big plus.
“It’s very, very unfortunate given I’ve other scars on the front and back of my head from the cancer. This will leave another one but it was unavoidable.
“The stitches come out this week and plastic surgery is an option if the scarring doesn’t heal.
“However, there’s no point in getting one of those hair transplants – I don’t think they do miracles.”