Players seek safety between touch lines. Ferdinand is just the latest soccer player to suffer a freak injury. American goalkeeper Kasey Keller knocked out his front teeth in 1998 while pulling his golf clubs out of the trunk of his car.
Goalies seem especially prone to quirky injuries.
Former England keeper Dave Beasant suffered his career-worst injury when he cut the ligaments in his ankle after dropping a bottle of salad dressing on his foot. Brodie shattered his kneecap while the dog got the ball. In 1975, Manchester United goalie Alex Stepney screamed so hard at his teammates in a game against Birmingham City that he dislocated his jaw and had to leave the field. Perhaps the strangest injury suffered by a goalie nearly ended Welsh international Andy Dibble, who suffered severe chest burns from sliding along a field two years ago when he was playing for Barry Town against Carmarthen. Dibble, who had to have a skin graft, believed it was chemicals on the field that caused the burns.