11-year-old Charlie Silverwood was at Dean Court for the Cherries' pre-season friendly against the Spanish giants, and was delighted to have scored seats right behind the goal.
Six minutes in, however, his prime seats proved to be a liability as a Ronaldo free kick - struck at full power from 35 yards - dipped over the goal and smashed young Charlie on his left arm.
The shot left his wrist broken in two places, but the brave Bournemouth fan refused to leave the ground to get medical help - and no wonder, considering the outrageous ticket prices.
"I could see the ball coming towards me. It curled past the post and was going to hit my face — so I had to block it with my hand," Charlie told The Sun, before going on to explain that his dad, Lee, could have stepped in to stop the injury happening.
"My dad was sat next to me and ducked out of the way so I took the full force."
Charming, eh? Poor little Charlie. But he was just grateful that it wasn't worse.
"If I didn't put my wrist out in front of me I'd have ended up with no front teeth," he told Sky News.
He stayed to watch the final 84 minutes of the match before going to hospital, where it emerged that his wrist was broken in two places.
That alone is something to consider next time you lambast a footballer for flinching out of the way while making up part of a free kick wall.
The story has a happy ending, however: Real Madrid organised a signed Ronaldo shirt for Charlie, while Bournemouth sent him a ball signed by the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment