Former Premier League footballer Jermaine Pennant has said he required more than 50 stitches after being bitten by a dog. Pennant, 43, said the attack took place last week while he was walking his two dogs in north London, when a German Shepherd attacked him.
Pennant, a former winger for Liverpool and Stoke City, described how the dog latched onto his leg and refused to let go while he tried to protect his own dog, King. In an Instagram post, he noted that King prevented "what could have been a terrible situation".
Speaking to the Sun, he said he sustained four bite wounds and received hospital treatment for his right leg, requiring more than 50 stitches. He added that King was unharmed, though he did not provide details about the German Shepherd. He also stated that he did not report the attack to the police.
"So, a German Shepherd attacked me, I tried to protect King, but the dog bit me on the leg. I was on the ground, and the dog was still latched on and there was no sign it would let go, until King intervened because it didn't know what was happening," Pennant recounted. "But as soon as it did, it drove the dog away and saved me from what could have been a terrible situation."
He added that King was unharmed, apart from a small bite on its leg, but was covered in blood that was not its own. "At that moment, I forgot the agony I was in and my heart sank, but it wasn't King's," he said. A photo published on Instagram shows Pennant with a bandaged leg, next to King on the sofa.
Pennant thanked his partner, Mimmi Montgomery, for looking after them. "My hero is still protecting me and trying to look after me. King, you are a legend, I love you, man's best friend. Thank you Mimmi Montgomery for looking after us both," he wrote.
Pennant currently works as a commentator for Talksport. During his 19-year career, he made 231 appearances in the Premier League and retired in 2018. At the age of 15, before debuting in professional football, he became the most expensive schoolboy in English football when he moved from Notts County to Arsenal for £2.5 million.
