Socceroos legend Mark Bosnich has been taken to hospital with a knee injury after a World Cup launch event gone wrong. The former Manchester United and Aston Villa goalkeeper wound the clock back in a celebrity shootout on Friday, standing in goals for shots from former Aussie teammate Robbie Slater, Sydney Swans champion Michael O’Loughlin, recently retired Matildas midfielder Elise Kellond-Knight, and ex-NRL star Justin Horo. They all went as planned for 54-year-old Bosnich, who proved he still hadn’t lost the keeping ability that earned him 17 caps for Australia between 1993 and 2000.
But things went pear-shaped when Tabcorp CEO Gillon McLachlan, the former boss of the AFL, stepped up to take a spot-kick. The longtime AFL CEO fired a shot down the middle as Bosnich took an ungainly dive backwards and kept the ball out with his right foot. He might have saved the shot, but Bosnich unfortunately hurt himself on the way down as his right knee thudded into the ground.
The Aussie football great and larger-than-life TV personality laid flat on the ground as a smattering of laughs rang around the activation from a crowd who didn’t yet realise the injury was serious. Fellow Socceroos champion Archie Thompson, who was hosting the event, approached Bosnich with a level of trepidation, still unsure if it was a stunt. Everyone soon realised it wasn’t though, as Bosnich staggered to his feet and limped off in the hands of medical staff. He was later pictured with ice on his knee before being taken to hospital for scans.
“I hit it flush,” McLachlan said afterwards. Bosnich has had a decorated TV and media career with several broadcasters since his retirement from professional football.
