But, they get stupid amounts of money. So it’s a trade off.
Every so often, real life dishes out more punishment than an on-field injury ever could. Here’s a list of 7 all time stupid injuries suffered by professional athletes - while not at work:
7. Leroy ‘Big Stretch’ Lita
Lita missed the first month of the 2007-08 Premier League season after damaging a leg muscle as he stretched in bed after waking up. “Leroy is in a great deal of pain,” said Steve Coppell, the Reading manager. “He woke up and stretched while in bed and he has done something to his leg. It is not an injury that should be ridiculed or made light of,” he added.
6. Ian ‘Spiderman’ Greig
The unfortunate Greig snapped his key in the lock after arriving home after playing for Sussex in the county championship match with Kent in June 1983. No problem, thought the resourceful all-rounder, as he spotted an open window and proceeded to shin up the wall of his house. Greig lost his footing and fell nearly 20 feet, breaking an ankle in the process. Now playing for Surrey, he was in the wars again four years later after being hit on the hand in a game. He went to the local hospital for an X-ray to make sure there were no broken bones and stood up, banging his head on the machine and opening up a wound which required two stitches.
5. Ted ‘Hex’ Dexter
Dexter, one of England’s all-time greatest batsmen, was run over by a car in June 1965. His own. The Jaguar he was driving ran out of petrol on the Great West Road in Brentford and he opted to try and push it to the nearest garage. Unfortunately the vehicle had a mind of its own and Dexter lost control, ending up being pinned against a factory gate with a smashed leg.
4. Steve Morrow (aka ‘the Tony Adams guy’)
The highlight of Morrow’s career turned into one of his worst nightmares thanks to the over-exhuberance of Tony Adams, his Arsenal team-mate. The former Northern Ireland defender scored the winning goal in the 1993 League Cup final win against Sheffield Wednesday, his first for the club, but in the post-match celebrations Adams lifted Morrow on to his shoulders before promptly dropping him, unintentionally, like a sack of potatoes. Morrow was taken to hospital with a broken arm and was ruled out for the rest of the season, which meant he also missed the FA Cup final [also against Wednesday], though he made history before that game by going up to receive his League Cup winners' medal.
3. Gus ‘Headbanger’ Frerotte
Ever wondered why American football players wear helmets? Frerotte was a quarterback with the Washington Redskins and one bar short of a facemask, it would appear. In 1997 he celebrated scoring a touchdown against the New York Giants by head-butting the padded stadium wall. Unfortunately, his target consisted of a thin layer of foam covering a block of concrete and although Frerotte continued groggily until half-time, he was then taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with concussion and was never really the same player again. "People made a big deal out of that," Frerotte said. "I just laugh about it. It was an emotional thing. I was excited, and it's not something I made an effort to do, it just happened."
2. Glenallen ‘Spiderman’ Hill
Baseball is a dangerous game. Pitchers throw fastballs at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour, there are collisions between fielders and between batsmen and fielders. Glenallen Hill’s injury, however, was something quite different. On the roster of the Toronto Blue Jays at the time, Hill turned up with bumps and bruises before a match with the Seattle Mariners in July 1990 and declared himself unavailable to play. He then proceeded to tell incredulous reporters the story of what had happened the night before which was so bizarre he could not have possibly made it up. Hill, who suffers from arachnophobia, had been having a nightmare that he was being attacked by a spider and literally got out of bed and started trying to flee – while still asleep. He subsequently tumbled out of bed, cut his foot on a glass table and fell down a flight of stairs while sleepwalking. ''When I woke up I was on a couch and my wife, Mika, was screaming, 'Honey, wake up!''' he told the Associated Press.
1. David Beckham (aka ‘FERGIE DECKS BECKS’)
Many of the closest relationships end in spectacular bust-ups and Beckham’s falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson was splashed across the front pages of all the tabloids. Ferguson was fuming after his Manchester United side lost 2-0 to arch rivals Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup in February 2003 and lashed out with his foot at a stray boot in the changing room. Of course, he had no intention of hurting poor Goldenballs, but, with the unerring accuracy of a Beckham free-kick, the rogue piece of footwear avoided the wall and curled towards the head of United’s star player, opening up a nasty cut that bled profusely. Beckham was furious and later needed two butterfly stitches to stem the flow of blood. “It was a graze which was dealt with by the doctor," Ferguson said. "It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again.
