'I signed for Liverpool but got injured while doing the ironing - it forced me to retire'

A former player was forced to give up his football career after suffering a freak injury while doing the ironing. He signed for the Anfield giants in 1994 and looked to have a bright future at the highest level of the game. However, it all fell apart when he picked up a bizarre injury that would ultimately spell the end of his career.

The player in question is Michael Stensgaard, a Danish goalkeeper who was lauded as a successor to the legendary Peter Schmeichel. As a youngster, he turned heads with his performances for local side Hvidovre and was rewarded with international caps at under-21 level. It put him on the radar of Liverpool, who snapped him up for a transfer fee of £400,000.

Stensgaard was signed as a project player for the Reds, who wanted to develop him to succeed Bruce Grobelaar as the understudy to David James. However, his hopes of breaking into the first-team squad quickly went up in smoke.

He suffered a baffling injury while reaching for the ironing board at his Southport home, dislocating his shoulder in the process. The unfortunate mishap raised eyebrows at the time but it later became apparent that other factors had come into play.

Stensgaard had actually injured his shoulder during a training session and was in the process of rebuilding strength in the affected area. Doing the ironing simply put too much strain on it, leading to the joint popping out in unusual circumstances.

The injury ruined his chances of making the grade at Liverpool and his contract was mutually terminated when he was just 21. Stensgaard returned to Hvidovre, where he worked as a goalkeeper coach, before eventually trying to revive his playing career.

He had some relative success at Copenhagen, making 17 appearances for the Danish heavyweights in 1998, before joining Southampton later that year. The move never worked out, though, and he was back in his native country seven months later.

Stensgaard made a further 19 appearances for Copenhagen between 1999 and 2001 but more physical struggles led to his eventual retirement at 26. The atypical shoulder injury he suffered at Liverpool was the start of his unfortunate spiral.

After hanging up his boots, Stensgaard earned a law degree and was the first in Scandinavia to specialise in business conflict mediation. He also co-founded People In Sport, an agency for elite athletes, in 2007 but sold his shares in the company last year.