A player who plies his trade in Serie A was forced to deny claims that he was bitten by a zombie after pictures of his bizarre-looking injury went viral.
Appearing in a match for Italian side Bologna, the player in question could be seen with an alarming red mark on the back of his neck against Venezia on Saturday.
Striker Jens Odgaard, 25, put in an impressive performance to help his side to a 1-0 win which kept them ahead of Juventus in the bid for a top four spot.
Reacting to pictures of the injury on social media, fan theories ranged from zombie bites to shark attacks.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one alarmed user wrote: ‘Is that a tattoo or a shark bite on the back of Jens Odgaard’s neck?’
Commenting on the camera angles of the injury shown by DAZN throughout the game, a second added: ‘Interesting view in the Venezia vs Bologna match.
A player who plies his trade in Serie A was forced to deny claims that he was bitten by a zombie after pictures of his bizarre-looking injury went viral
Striker Jens Odgaard, 25, put in an impressive performance to help his side to a 1-0 win which kept them ahead of Juventus in the bid for a top four spot
‘Jens Odgaard’s neck looks like there is a red circle. Did he just get his neck scraped?’
A further post read: ‘What is that thing? A zombie bite?’
The striker took to social media to address concerns over his welfare after the game had ended.
Posting on Instagram, he wrote ‘It’s just a medicine I’m using for my neck, nothing serious.’
One fan responded: ‘Good to know. You had us worried for a while. There were some crazy theories floating around.’
Odgaard has played a pivotal role in Bologna’s push for a Champions League spot, scoring six goals in 25 league games so far this term.
He joined the club in the summer of 2023 after previously playing for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.