Dan Burn has enjoyed the week of his life, capping his first England call up with Newcastle, winning the Carabao Cup in a victory over Liverpool on Sunday.
The 32-year-old defender busted some moves in the Magpies’ dressing room after he helped his team end a dry run of 70 years without a trophy.
Now set to become one of the oldest ever debutants for England, Burn has emerged from relative obscurity into the public eye.
Fans are now beginning to notice not just his 6ft 7in frame but also an unusual characteristic for a sportsman – he is missing one finger.
This is the backstory.
How did Dan Burn lose a finger?
The Geordie is now playing for his local club but returned to Tyneside in 2022 having played at Fulham, Brighton and Wigan in the intervening years.
He has been able to forge a top-level career, despite not having had the ring finger on his right hand since the age of 13.
According to TalkSport, Burn was wearing a ring on the finger when it became caught on a spike and this led to it being gruesomely ripped off.
Until the age of 14, Burn had been a goalkeeper and was in Chelsea’s academy. But he changed positions following the accident and progressed through the ranks – starting at Darlington while he was completing his A-levels and washing his own kit aged 18.
He told the Sun: “Normally, the lads who are getting picked up to play in the youth teams are getting picked up around 15, 16. I didn’t end up signing for anyone.
“I went to sixth form and went and did a little bit of work. I was working at Asda pushing trolleys.
“If you had said then that I would be in the Premier League, I would have laughed at you.
“It was a little bit more of a different route for me but it helped me become even more determined and focused.”
These days, Burn is happy to joke about the missing digit and was seen laughing with teammates as he tried on some goalkeeper gloves pre-season.
