Napoli star Dries Mertens’ ‘private jet skids OFF RUNWAY’ amid heavy rain after landing back in Belgium to see a specialist on his ankle injury… but forward and his dog were unharmed
- Dries Mertens was involved in a huge scare on his return to Belgium on weekend
- The Napoli star’s private jet skidded off the runway amid heavy rain in Belgium
- Fortunately, everyone on board was unharmed as jet skidded onto the grass
- Mertens returned to Belgium to see a specialist on his left ankle injury
Dries Mertens was involved in a huge scare after arriving back in Belgium on Saturday after his private jet slid off the runway while landing, according to reports.
The Belgium forward, who will miss Wednesday night’s Coppa Italia clash with Atalanta, returned back home over the weekend to see a specialist on his left ankle injury that has not fully healed since his setback on December 16.
But as he touched down at Deurne airport, in Antwerp, ahead of the visit to the specialist, things took a worrying turn as the private plane landed – according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
Dries Mertens was given a huge scare after private plane carrying him slid off the runway
Immediate aftermath: Mertens and his dog were unharmed after the incident in Deurne
Amid a downfall of heavy rain in Antwerp, the pilots reportedly couldn’t keep the aircraft on the runway and it moved further ahead than planned, before skidding onto the grass of the safety zone.
Fortunately for Mertens, whose dog – Juliette – was also on board, they were both unharmed in the incident.
‘We were called up on Saturday evening around 9.20pm to provide assistance,’ a member of staff at the Antwerp fire brigade told the newspaper.
‘We pulled the aircraft back onto the runway with two technical vehicles.’
Pilots couldn’t keep the plane on the runway amid heavy rain in Belgium on the weekend
Mertens will be shook up by the alarming incident over the weekend as he looks to finally recover from his ankle injury.
The 33-year-old sprained his left ankle during the 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan in Serie A in mid-December.
Mertens had recently returned to action for Napoli but the ankle flared up again after playing through pain-killing injections.
And Serie A outfit Napoli recently released a statement confirming that Mertens had flown back to Belgium for specialist treatment on his ankle.
Mertens returned to Belgium to see a specialist on an ankle injury sustained against Inter Milan
