We reckon St. Mirren captain Steven Thompson might have taken his motivational role a bit too seriously.
On Thursday evening, Thompson flung a spiked pole at team-mate John McGinn in an incident which has once again redefined the ambiguous old adage of 'training ground prank.' The spear-like object penetrated the Scotland under-21 midfielder's thigh, ruling him out of Saturday's 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Thompson explained how the bizarre injury came about.
I'm mortified by the whole thing. It was a daft prank. I threw it for a laugh, stupid me trying to be funny, and unfortunately it's anything but. It's a total disaster..
Thankfully, McGinn suffered no long-term damage, but the 20 year old has been ruled out for another three weeks due to the centimetre-deep hole in his thigh muscle. Footballers these days, always looking for a way out.
Rather amusingly, St. Mirren's nickname is 'the Buddies.'
In a plot twist, this headline from the Scottish Herald in February 2013 is starting to look strangely prophetic, in a deranged, twisted sort of way.
St Mirren 2 Hearts 0: Carey thrusts spear into side becoming increasingly familiar with painful cuts http://t.co/CBXXhc08U4
— The Herald (@heraldscotland) February 28, 2013