A Scots footballer has revealed the shock moment he was ready to go under the knife – and realised his surgeon was a REFEREE.
Ben Carson, captain of Ayrshire outfit Irvine Meadow couldn’t believe his eyes when William Wilson – a well known Junior football whistler – approached his hospital bed ahead of an ankle operation.
The official was part of a small team of trauma and orthopaedic medics at Glasgow’s New Victoria hospital tasked with performing the procedure on the crocked midfielder at the end of January.
The operation – to remove steel plates and screws – was a complete success but the bizarre coincidences didn’t stop there.
Wilson was able to check on his patient’s progress on Saturday – after he was appointed the man in the middle for Meadow’s home league clash against Glenafton.
Carson said: “It was certainly a shock to see Willie in the hospital. I had no idea he was a surgeon.
“We recognised each other pretty much straight away and I just remember thinking, ‘Thank god I’ve never given him dog’s abuse before.’
“Seriously though, I’ve always got on well with him. He’s one of the better referees in Junior football and I’m not just saying that.
“He was the referee when there was a bit of trouble in the Scottish Cup game at Glenafton a few weeks ago, so we had a wee chat about that and other football stuff.
“He came back round to see how I was doing after the operation and then, as luck would have it, he was the ref on Saturday.
“He was actually good enough to ask our secretary if I was at the ground and he sought me out to see how I’ve been keeping.
“It was a really nice touch.”
Carson broke and dislocated his ankle, rupturing four ligaments in the process, in a league game against Clydebank in October. Scans later showed he also had a leg fracture which has since healed on its own.
He is targeting a return to action in late autumn.
