On This Day – 6th September
It was on this day back in 1989 that Terry Butcher gained fame for playing with a nasty head injury for England against Sweden in a World Cup qualifier.
Butcher went up for an aerial challenge in the first half, missed the ball and ended up headbutting his Swedish counterpart instead!
He was patched up by the England physio and a dressing was wrapped around his head but the wound wouldn’t stop bleeding.
During half-time, whilst Bobby Robson was giving a team talk to the rest of the team, captain Terry Butcher was getting his head wound stitched up. After being given the all-clear to play in the second half, he went out and joined his team mates in a brand new white shirt.
His replacement England shirt didn’t stay white for very long as his cut opened again and continued to bleed profusely. The fiercely patriotic defender was not one to give up easily and stayed on the pitch until the final whistle, still going up for headers (and winning them too!).
The game ended goalless and the draw helped England on their way to qualify for the World Cup in Italy the following summer. The image of Terry Butcher and his head injury against the Swedes lives long in the memory and no doubt for any of the players on the pitch that night!
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