Here's a story that might leave you reaching for a new pair of underpants - sorry.
Singapore international and former Exeter City midfielder John Wilkinson did exactly that during a World Cup qualifier in front of over 20,000 people.
It was Tajikistan against Singapore in a crucial qualifying tie in November 2007 - and before it the worst happened: he and his teammates were struck down with food poisoning.
It's not a problem you'd want before such an important game. Wilkinson and his ill-stricken side came-up with a solution - albeit, a messy one.
Advert
"We all got terrible food poisoning and a few of us had to wear adult diapers when we were on the pitch," Wilkinson, told BBC World Service Sport.
"We spoke to the referee and explained the problems we were having, and he told us if we really needed to go, to quickly let him know.
"Throughout the game, we were popping off the pitch, emptying our diapers and coming back on again. It was ridiculous
Advert
."We were vomiting on the pitch. It was the toughest match I have ever played in my career."
Surely they didn't follow-through (sorry, again) and manage to qualify? Well, it happened. Singapore scraped a 1-1 draw which saw them move on to the next round. Wilkinson, who was eligible to play for the Southeast Asian country after marrying his Singaporean wife, moved there after falling out of love with English football.
He went on to represent Singapore on 29 occasions, scoring four times. But despite seeing Tajikistan off - and eventually their stomach illnesses - Singapore failed to reach the finals; what a story that would have been - and you'd have to hope Pampers would have jumped on the story as official nappy sponsors.
Advert
If only Gary Lineker and Tottenham Hotspur's lasagne-gate team would have prepared like this. What's the craziest minor-illness related sports story you've seen? Let us know in the comments.
Words by Kane Allen
Topics: Football News, Football
