According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 10,700 people are injured in the UK every year while putting on socks, more than 13,000 are somehow injured by a vegetable and 2,000 people fall out of trees. Admittedly a Venn Diagram of these groups would probably reveal a huge crossover in the middle, but they are still worrying statistics.

And, when you hear about injuries such as Liam Lawrence's dog-based mishap ( news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo... ) you cannot help but wonder whether most of this injury-prone group are actually professional footballers.

For the modern day footballer seems to live in a Simpsons-style parallel universe where common day objects are potential pitfalls. Every object is a rake ready to be sent eyewards with one misplaced step.

Opening cupboards, going into the loft, trying to accelerate and having an arm wrestle are all fraught with danger - even waking up carries a risk. In fact, doing nothing is no guarantee of safety - Rio Ferdinand pulled a tendon simply by sitting down for too long.

If you will allow one more analogy, footballers follow a watered-down version of Final Destination. Death might not stalk them, but they cannot escape the spectre of the falling salad cream.

Here - thanks to a trawl through our own archive and ubiquitous research tool Google - we list a few of our favourites. But really we want your input - what are your favourite pratfalls. Who would injure themselves while straight-jacketed in a padded cell?

Richard Wright ( news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo... )

A former Arsenal and England keeper, Wright's career has been on a slow decline for a number of years. But his descent was altogether quicker in 2003 when, while trying to sort out his suitcases, he fell from his loft, injured his shoulder and was forced to miss a chunk of pre-season training.

Julio Arca ( news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/fun... )

Arguably, it takes a brave man to swim in the North Sea at the best of times. But Arca braved the cold to go for a bracing swim after a training session - and was promptly stung by a Portuguese Man of War.

Darren Barnard

Lawrence is not alone in suffering at the hands of a dog. Barnard, then at Barnsley, slipped on a puddle of dog urine and tore knee ligaments. Presumably his manager's response started with 'are you taking...'


Lee Thorpe ( news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo... )

As someone with a very low percentage win rate at arm wrestling, I can empathise with this one. Travelling on the team bus to a vital play-off clash with Darlington, Rochdale striker Thorpe took on a team-mate in an arm wrestle and promptly suffered a triple fracture.

Mark Statham

Stalybridge Celtic midfielder Statham reportedly missed a match in 1999 because his head was stuck in a car door. Citation needed for this one, please.

Santiago Canizares

Canizares missed the 2002 World Cup after injuring his foot by dropping a bottle of aftershave on it. In the UK equivalent, Dave Beasant suffered the same injury, only for aftershave read the altogether more British salad cream.

Leroy Lita ( news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo... )

Neil Sedaka sang that breaking up is hard to do, but for Lita waking up is hard to do (sorry). The Reading striker woke one morning at whatever time Premier League strikers wake during pre season, stretched and felt something pull, suffering a leg injury which saw him miss the start of the season. It was a bad start to a campaign that would see Reading relegated and Lita loaned out after losing his first team place.

And of course we could go on with tales of David James, Alan Wright, Steve Morrow and more. But you've all heard those stories. Hit us with your ones instead.