Sports Calendar

Wright vaults into our list with two different offerings, making him the only Everton goalkeeper to do the double. In summer 2003 he was packing his suitcases after a holiday away when he fell off a loft ladder and damaged a shoulder, wrecking his pre-season preparations. Three years later he proved it was not only David James, the Portsmouth goalkeeper, who deserves the nickname Calamity as he injured his ankle in a freak accident in the warm-up prior to an FA Cup game with Chelsea , falling over a sign positioned in the goal. Iain Turner, a reserve, was forced to deputise and Everton lost the game 4-1.

46. Mariner Moose

If you are not into baseball, you will be unfamiliar with this creature who is the unruly mascot of the Seattle Mariners. The Moose made national headlines in 1995 when in a play-off series with the New York Yankees, he crashed into the outfield wall at the Kingdome while being towed on online skates behind an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in the outfield. These days our moose tends to drive the buggy himself and later exacted some kind of revenge in a game with the Boston Redsox this season, colliding with visiting second baseman Coco Crisp who , despite being incredibly lucky to avoid serious injury, laughed off the incident. As an aside Svein Grondalen, the Norway defender, had to withdraw from an international during the 1970s after colliding with a moose while out jogging, but it is not believed to be the same creature.

45. Thierry Henry

You would have thought that with the number of goals he scored during his career with Arsenal that the France international would have turned his celebrations into a slickly choreographed routine. Not so. After scoring in a Premier League game against Chelsea in May 2000 he ran to the corner flag and ended up almost poking his eye out. Henry received medical treatment by the side of the pitch before being able to continue.

44. Rio Ferdinand

When a player costs your club a cool £18million you would probably be quite happy as a manager if your prize asset is at home with his feet up watching the telly like a sensible young man rather than out on the town partying. Unfortunately back in February 2001 Ferdinand, then with Leeds United, was resting his leg on a coffee table for a number of hours and when he came to move it found he was in big trouble. The result was a strained tendon behind his knee and an enforced absence of two games which he spent, one would assume, sat at home with his feet up watching TV.

43. Ian 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.

42. Hasim Rahman

Rahman suffered a horrific-looking injury to his head in a bout against Evander Holyfield in June 2002. Two unintentional head-butts caused a lump the size of a small grapefruit (or a large apple, if you prefer) appear on the unfortunate heavyweight’s forehead. “I didn't think he could do so much damage with his head,'' Rahman said. ``He must have a metal plate in there or something.'' The bout was stopped and went to the judges, with the 39-year-old Holyfield being declared the winner.

41. The perils of kickboxing

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