The former cricketer’s horrific injuries after a disastrous high-speed stunt could be the end of the road for the long-running motoring show
It was a cheering sight both for fans of cricket and Top Gear: Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff pictured at England’s one-day international series against New Zealand. In his first public appearance since he was injured in a driving stunt for the BBC motoring show nine months ago, Flintoff was seen with the England team at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. On Friday, he led drills with the players before watching the match from the balcony, and on Sunday was with the team in Southampton. Wearing an England training kit and bucket hat, he joked around with the team and smiled for photographers.
But while Flintoff’s familiar grin was in evidence, his emergence in public also revealed the shocking extent of his injuries. Few details of the former England star’s condition have been released since the crash at Top Gear’s Dunsfold Park Aerodrome test track in Surrey last December, when the three-wheel Morgan Super 3 he was driving flipped over at speed. He was airlifted to hospital. Fans were told that he had suffered broken ribs and facial injuries but Flintoff remained out of the public eye, save for a snatched paparazzi photograph of him in the passenger seat of a car, a scarf pulled up to cover his face.
Nine months on from the crash, Flintoff’s face bears a scar stretching from the bridge of his nose to his chin, suggesting multiple reconstructive operations and skin grafts. The right side of his face appears to show signs of nerve damage. On Friday, his nose was still covered with gauze and the grazes were fresh. The sight of Flintoff’s injuries at the crash scene were reportedly so traumatising that several members of the Top Gear crew were signed off with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Many of Flintoff’s friends were shocked by the pictures, having not seen the star since the crash.