Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause has detailed his terrifying ordeal in which a group of thugs attempted to rob and kidnap him after a day out shopping in London.
Hause, 26, opened up on the harrowing 2018 incident in the second part of a documentary titled PowerHause Journey ft. Kortney, revealing for the first time that one of the group smashed a glass bottle over his head during the episode.
The former England U21 international was playing for Wolves at the time, but having not been included in Nuno Espirito Santo's squad for their Boxing Day clash at Fulham, decided to travel to Essex to spend Christmas with his family.
He hit Oxford Circus the next day with a friend, all the while being watched by the criminals who followed the footballer on his 40-minute drive home to ambush him.
'I've walked to my front door, my boy has pulled off and a car... all tinted, pulled up and then stopped. All the doors opened apart from the driver's door and like five guys hopped out of the car and I'm thinking "what's this some prank?"
'I remember there was a tall guy and the other guys were like average height, but the tall guy was like "grab him, grab him, grab him".'
WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW
Hause managed to momentarily evade the gang, before the taller member of the group assaulted him with a glass bottle, leaving a nasty gash on his head.
'He pulls his arm back, I think he is going to punch me but that's when he like... it must have been a bottle because it smashed, it must have been the end of a bottle and that is where I got that scar. I got that scar from him literally whacking my head with a bottle.'
At this point, Hause explains that the gang jumped on him but once again he managed to escape and ran towards a nearby hospital.
The gang chased the Villa defender by car and met him again just outside of the entrance to Accident and Emergency, and Hause detailed how he feared his attackers may have possessed a gun.
'I can't even see through the window, it's like a nightmare you know when you can't even see the person's face, it's like a blur. It's just black isn't it.
'I'm thinking "who is this?" no word of a lie, I know it sounds mad but I thought the window was going to come down and I thought they were going to shoot me. I thought they were going to have a gun and shoot me. I was thinking "why are you chasing me this much? You must want me dead."'
The sound of a nearby ambulance scared the attackers off momentarily, allowing Hause time to ask a paramedic for help. However, he was refused assistance and ran into the A&E department.
After a 15 minute wait, Hause was attended to and was in safe hands.
The 26-year-old joined Villa on loan shortly after the ordeal and was signed permanently in the summer of 2019, following the club's promotion to the Premier League.
Hause is yet to feature under new boss Steven Gerrard, but scored the winner for Villa in their 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in September this season.
Part three of PowerHause Sport Group's documentary with Kortney Hause will be available on their Instagram page on Thursday, December 30 at 8.30pm.