A young footballer found himself using an unusual remedy to treat an injury thanks to a prank from his team-mate.
Tom Preston, 18, thought he was texting Lancaster City’s physio to get advice on his swollen ankle.
Sadly for him, he had the wrong number – he was actually contacting team-mate Rob Wilson, a man known more for his phone-based pranks than his medical acumen, so much so that he’s earned the nickname Fonejacker.
The 28-year-old midfielder spotted an opportunity to have some fun with his team-mate and he went for it – changing his WhatsApp image and name to match physio Neil Coomber’s and giving some slightly unusual useful advice.
After checking he could put weight on the ankle, Wilson told Preston: “If you can, put a sirloin steak on it for 10 minutes. This will reduce the swelling and bruising.”
He even requested a picture to show to manager Mark Snell so he would know the injury was being treated.
Sadly Preston had no steak to hand, so he dispatched his dad to the nearest shop to get the goods.
“If you get a receipt for it, the club will reimburse you,” Wilson told the teenager.
About half an hour later, the pictorial evidence arrived – a thick sirloin steak applied to Preston’s swollen ankle.
With one final flourish, Wilson suggested his patient also apply salt and pepper to help reduce the swelling.
He then suggested the steak would be better cooked medium rare, before finally caving in and revealing his true identity.
According to Wilson, Preston, who he described as “quite gullible”, has taken the gag well.
“He loves it,” Wilson told the Press Association. “He’s laughing about it now. His dad fell for it too, to be fair.”
Such behaviour is not unusual from Wilson, who is known for his pranks.
“It’s usually prank calls,” he said. “The lads call me Fonejacker because I make calls pretending to be other non-league managers, offering this and that.”
None has ever blown up like this before though – a prank that has proved wildly successful, even if the steak did get wasted.
“He didn’t even eat it,” Wilson said.
