Sam Thompson reveals Soccer Aid appearance is hanging by a thread – and horrifying after-effects of 260 mile bike ride
SAM Thompson has revealed his Soccer Aid appearance is hanging in the balance as he continues to recover from his gruelling charity run.
The I’m A Celeb king, 34, raised more than £1.5m for Unicef by running and biking 260 miles from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, to Old Trafford, Manchester, where the game will be played at the weekend.
Sam carried the matchday ball in a backpack for the duration of the journey and was joined by famous pals at various points as they tried to motivate him through the pain barrier.
Speaking on Hits Radio today, Sam revealed his battered body is still suffering.
He said: “I am so tired but elated. I’m so glad we got it done…
“Never again [am I getting on a bike] I think I’m prone to saddle issues! After day one I still to this point can’t feel bits of my privates. I’m being deadly serious!
“The bike is a wild thing, Tracey who was with me going up these hills when we were skirting round the edge of Wales, that was mad and you’re just going so slowly and you feel like your bike is going to topple over! I did think to myself this is the first time I’ve ridden a bike in so long…”
Detailing how adapting for one leg issue has aggravated others, Sam continued: “Because I was running in a different way my shin was really inflamed so I couldn’t even run on my tiptoes so I was running side to side.
“I describe it as plugging holes, so like the calf tears so that’s one hole you’ve got to plug so then I run on my tiptoes with my leg straight.
“OK well that then messes up my ankle ligaments because everything is running through your ankle; then your ankle ligament explodes so then you can’t do that… you’re trying to play chess against yourself, whilst trying not to panic because I can’t move my leg and it’s still pretty bad.“
Though it’s up in the air if he’ll be fit in time to step onto the pitch at the weekend, Sam is still going to be a presence at training sessions in the build up under the care of Gary the physio.
He said: “I’m just going to go lie on his bed every single day and get a rub down…!”
Sam cuddled his sister Louise after finishing the challenge but his girlfriend Samie Elishi wasn’t in attendance.
He also received a phone call from Orlando Bloom in the This Morning studio who congratulated him on the superhuman effort.
Chris Hughes, Ryan Libbey and Josh Patterson were all on hand at various points of the challenge to offer support.
This Sunday’s game will see huge celebs battle it out in an England XI v World XI.
The teams are being managed by Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney, respectively.