Rugby star Ben Foden showcases excruciating facial injury with black eye and swelling

Ben Foden shares shocking snaps of a large gash on his swollen face and a painful black eye after playing rugby for his American team


Ben Foden has posted shocking snaps of a large gash on his cheek and black eye to Instagram.    

The sportsman, 35, plays for Rugby United New York and had a match against the New England Free Jacks at the Union Point Stadium in Massachusetts on Saturday.

Sharing his face injuries on social media after the game, Ben revealed he’d had stitches on his swollen cheek and also posted a video of his purple eye on Sunday. 

Ouch: Rugby star Ben Foden showcased his painful black eye, swelling and gaping gash on his cheek to Instagram on Sunday after playing rugby for his New York team on Saturday

In the first picture, which the rugby star captioned ‘she’s a keeper’, he was seen holding his camera up to his face to reveal the big gouge in his right cheek.   

While a second image showed him lying on his back, with his face swollen and red, after having had stitches put in to close the cut up.

Captioning the second picture, Ben joked: ‘Snitches get stitches’. 

On Sunday, the former England international uploaded a short clip showing off his black eye – with a plaster now having been placed over his cut. 

Battered: The sportsman, 35, took to social media to post two photos of the injuries on his stories on Saturday, before uploading a short clip (pictured) on Sunday

Battered: The sportsman, 35, took to social media to post two photos of the injuries on his stories on Saturday, before uploading a short clip (pictured) on Sunday

Speaking in the video, Ben said: ‘I fooled you all, it was just a filter – oh, no it wasn’t!’

Commenting on the state of his face, he added: ‘Not the best.’

Ben did not explain what happened to his face in his Instagram posts and MailOnline has contacted his representatives for further comment. 

The star’s rugby team did also share a snap of him appearing to have a gash on his face to their Instagram account after Saturday’s game, which saw them lose 6 – 22.

They captioned the image of Ben: ‘Win or lose, we always stay smiling because we get to play the game we love – and look forward to the next one.’ 

Painful! In the first picture, which the rugby star captioned 'she's a keeper', he is seen holding his camera up to his face to reveal the horrific gouge in his right cheek

Showing it off: A second image shows him lying on his back, with his face swollen up and red, after having had stitches put in to close the cut up

Painful! In the first picture, which the rugby star captioned ‘she’s a keeper’ (left), he is seen holding his camera up to his face to reveal the horrific gouge in his right cheek

Ben’s facial injury comes after he and his second wife Jackie marked their daughter Farrah’s first birthday – and revealed they are thinking about having another child. 

Ben is a father-of-three, welcoming Farrah a year ago with Jackie, 36, and already sharing Aoife Belle, nine, and Tadhg, six, with ex-wife Una Healy, 39.

Speaking to OK! Magazine, Jackie said: ‘We might have another baby next year.’

Reflecting on her pregnancy and the arrival of Farrah, she continued: ‘The first pregnancy was really hard on me. I remember breaking down to Ben one night because I was so exhausted.

Growing family? Ben and his second wife Jackie marked the first birthday of their daughter Farrah last month - and are thinking about having another child

Growing family? Ben and his second wife Jackie marked the first birthday of their daughter Farrah last month – and are thinking about having another child

‘Then we had to induce at 37 weeks which turned into a C-section. It was brutal. I’m 36 now, I’d love to have another kid because after having Farrah I see it’s the reason I was put on this planet.’

She also admitted that Farrah ‘lights up’ when she gets to spend time with her half-brother and sister – but they live in Ireland with Una, while Ben and Jackie are based in Jackie’s native US.

Remarking that Ben and Una’s children are very well behaved, Jackie also added that she believes she and Ben will relocate to the UK one day, returning to the US for holidays. 

Stateside: Ben plays for Rugby United New York in the US currently (Pictured on May 30)

Stateside: Ben plays for Rugby United New York in the US currently (Pictured on May 30)