Gary Lewin injury: 'Run it off Gary' - Rio Ferdinand tells England physio to 'man up'

Former England defender seemingly unsympathetic to Gary Lewin's freak injury

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand was forced to make a hasty apology after appearing to make fun of Gary Lewin. (Twitter)

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand was forced to make a hasty apology after appearing to make fun of Gary Lewin.

The England physio suffered a dislocation and fracture of his ankle during Saturday's game with Italy, landing awkwardly on a water bottle as he celebrated a goal.

"England physio Gary Lewin was injured during celebrations for england's goal," the team's official Twitter feed tweeted. "He has dislocated his ankle. Get well soon Gary #3Lions"

However despite the severity of the injury, Ferdinand appeared unsympathetic, tweeting: "What happened to running it off??? The magic spray & sponge??? Our Physio Gary Lewin has to man up!!"

Rio Ferdinand's tweet (Twitter)

Less than an hour later though, Ferdinand thought better of his social media 'banter' and issued an apology - perhaps mindful that his comments were not befitting of his new role as a TV pundit.

Although to his credit at least he didn't immediately delete the offending tweet or claim to have been hacked like so many others have in the past.