From the Department of Freak Injuries

Soccer players twist ankles, tear hamstrings, and break bones without our batting an eyelash. So what does it take to make an injury truly newsworthy, something for the headline writers to lick their lips over? Try a player being taken to hospital after exploding an egg in his face. (The only thing more tragic would be the puns that spring to mind: it was an egg-cident, perhaps?)

It’s exactly what happened to Glasgow Rangers’ Kirk Broadfoot.

The good folks at the BBC bring us the hard facts on this one:

The 25-year-old Scotland international was poaching the egg at his home near Mauchline, Ayrshire, when the accident happened. It is understood hot liquid squirted onto his face and scalded his cheek when he opened the microwave door.

Soccer has a proud history of freak injuries, from Rio Ferdinand straining his leg watching television to Santiago Canizares missing the 2002 World Cup because he sliced his toe open with the shards of a broken aftershave bottle. For a great list of these crazy accidents — and to remind yourself that soccer players are just like us, only clumsier — check out the Guardian’s compilation here.