MILAN: Lazio midfielder Antonio Candreva smacked his knee into a metal fence and had to go off injured after scoring the winner against Palermo in Serie A on Sunday as his goal celebration went wrong.
After firing an unstoppable shot into the top corner, Candreva rushed towards the fans in the Curva Nord and tried to leap up onto the perimeter fence to celebrate with them.
Instead, he slid awkwardly into the fence, his right knee taking the brunt of the impact.
Not realising he was hurt, his team mates leapt on top of him as he lay on the ground before he limped off injured shortly afterwards.
"He's fine. He had to go and celebrate with the fans," Lazio coach Stefano Pioli told reporters after their 2-1 win.
"Fortunately it doesn't appear to be anything serious. I prefer all injuries to be accompanied by a winning goal."
Although Pioli was able to joke about the incident, goal celebrations in the past have ended in serious injury and, on one occasion, tragedy.
BROKEN LEG
Martin Palermo's La Liga career with Villarreal was cut short when the burly Argentine celebrated a goal in 2002 by climbing onto advertising boards which collapsed under the weight of the team's supporters.
He broke his leg and never fully recovered his best form, eventually moving to Boca Juniors in 2004 via Real Betis and Alaves.
Servette Geneva midfielder Paulo Diogo ripped off the top of his finger when his wedding ring got caught in the perimeter fence as he celebrated a Swiss league goal with supporters in 2004. Play was held up to search for the finger and he was booked for time-wasting.
Fabian Espindola sprained an ankle while performing a somersault celebration for Real Salt Lake City in 2008, sidelining him for two months while the goal itself was disallowed.
The same year saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic hurt his elbow by aggressively punching the air after scoring with an overhead kick for AC Milan.
Last year, Coritiba forward Joel escaped serious injury when he leapt over advertising hoardings and landed in a stairwell leading down to the dressing rooms in the Brazilian championship.
Tragedy struck in October when a 23-year-old Indian footballer died from severe spinal cord damage after attempting to celebrate a goal with a somersault.
Bethlehem Vengthlang FC midfielder Peter Biaksangzuala died in hospital in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram after the incident in a third-tier Mizoram Premier League match.
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