Forward Lee Thorpe faces months on the sidelines after shattering his arm in an arm-wrestling showdown on the team bus. He was already suffering from a dead leg and his participation in Rochdale’s remaining matches was already in serious doubt.
Now Thorpe will definitely miss the second leg of Rochdale's play-off with Darlington and the chance to play at Wembley and help clinch promotion to League One. The Lancashire club have been in England’s lowest league division for 34 years.

Rochdale boss Keith Hill defended his players against accusations of unprofessionalism. He revealed that his squad had used arm-wrestling as a tool to raise team morale and to punish players who had made mistakes in training. But although Hill refused to point the finger at any of his players, he has now put an end to pre-game grappling contests.

Freak football injuries

But despite the bizarre nature of Thorpe’s freak injury, it’s by no means the most ridiculous injury to hamper a footballer’s progress. In the mid 90s, Southampton goalkeeper Dave Beasant managed to rupture his ankle ligaments after dropping a bottle of salad cream on his foot. Norwegian international defender Svein Grondalen was forced to withdraw from an international match after he collided with a moose while out jogging.