Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was involved in a high-speed crash at Germany's Nurburgring racetrack but escaped without injury. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon during a public track day event organised by Circuit Days. It comes as his parent club Chelsea, sitting fifth in the Premier League with 16 points from a record of five wins, one draw and four defeats, look to close an 11-point gap to leaders Arsenal.
Sanchez, who is currently on loan at Italian side Como, was driving a £300,000 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo when he lost control approaching the Caracciola-Karussell corner at around 2:30pm. A witness reported the car was travelling at approximately 70mph before the impact, which badly damaged the vehicle's front end. The 28-year-old was wearing ordinary clothes and a racing helmet and was able to exit the car immediately after the collision.
The circuit was closed for about an hour while debris was cleared and the damaged Ferrari was removed by a recovery truck. Photographs from the scene showed broken parts of the car scattered across the track, with Sanchez's friends helping to gather the pieces into bags. The incident serves as a reminder of the risks players take during off-field activities.
Sanchez has a history with speeding violations, having been fined £1,520 and given three penalty points earlier this year for a separate offence in Crawley. He joined Chelsea in 2023 and made 112 appearances for the club before his summer loan move to Como, where he has featured in three Serie A matches this season.
News of the crash comes as Chelsea prepare to host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 21 November. That result was part of a recent run of two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five league games, following victories over Manchester United and Everton and a draw with Liverpool. The team has scored 19 goals and conceded 16 this season. They will be without several sidelined players including J. Hato, João Pedro, M. Lacroix, R. James, and J. Bynoe-Gittens for the upcoming fixture. João Pedro, despite his current injury, remains the club's top scorer this season with five goals in six appearances. Sanchez's fitness for upcoming club duties is not expected to be affected by the off-track incident.
This story first appeared at Yahoo Sports
