Alan One, squirrel Knill. Scunthorpe manager lucky to be alive after freak squirrel attack.

Being a football manager comes with a number of health hazards, but being attacked by a squirrel while on your bicycle was never one of them… until now.

According to The Guardian, Scunthorpe manager Alan Knill is counting his lucky stars after being involved in a freak accident while riding his bicycle, as a squirrel became stuck in the wheel spokes and sent him flying over the handlebars. No, really.

Knill’s accident was the latest episode in a rather run of luck for himself and his team of late, with the Irons rooted to the bottom of League One after six straight defeats.

Knill may well have been contemplating Scunny’s horrible league form on a cycle recently when a squirrel came flying across his path, got stuck in the wheel spokes and sent him flying, with the former Wales international only sustaining cuts and bruises as a result of the freak clash.

"I got hit by a squirrel," a relieved Knill told BBC Radio Humberside.

"I went over the top of my bike and landed on my head, shoulder and neck.

"I saw it run into the road but couldn't do anything about it and it just hit my wheel and stuck in my wheel and hit my brakes.

"For a minute, I thought I might have been in trouble because I landed on my head. Then, all of a sudden, I thought: 'I'm not, I'm alive!'

"Fortunately my collar bone is OK but I am pretty bruised. I could be dead and it's so stupid. I'm not and you have to put things into perspective."

"The situation we're in at the moment, I don't cherish, but there are worse situations."

Given that anyone would do well to fabricate such a crazy story such as this we're inclined to believe Knill in this case, but it's still a bit nuts, isn't it?