Why Dan Burn only has nine fingers with England star missing digit due to gruesome childhood accident

Dan Burn has become an England cult hero with his heroic defensive displays at the World Cup.

The Newcastle centre-back made his major tournament debut in the Three Lions’ epic last-16 win over Mexico at the Azteca, making World Cup history despite only coming off the bench with 15 minutes to go.

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Burn, 34, made six clearances to help 10-man England see out a famous, the most by a player coming on that late since substitutions were introduced at the 1970 World Cup.

However, fans are continuing to notice one detail about the 6ft 7 colossus – his missing finger.

Burn has made over 550 career appearances for club and country, but the story of his finger actually has nothing to do with football.

The defender is without his ring finger on his right hand following an accident he was involved in as a teenager.

Back when he was just 13, Burn was wearing a ring while climbing a fence when it caught on a spike, as per The Free Library.

The gruesome incident led to his finger being ripped off, which must have been a horrific moment for the youngster.

But Burn has more than overcome the adversity to make it as a professional and eventually become a fan-favourite at his boyhood club and for England.

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He also isn’t afraid to make light of his missing digit, as he showed by laughing about it with teammates back in 2024.

As Newcastle travelled to Germany ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season, they visited the headquarters of their kit supplier Adidas.

While there, Burn, Harvey Barnes and Sean Longstaff tried on goalkeeper gloves which were meant for five fingers, of course.

As he pulled them on, all three burst into laughter and Burn wiggled the spare glove finger around in the air.

The former Brighton man is more than comfortable with his hands and it doesn’t seem to impact his performances.

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It certainly hasn’t affected him as he continues to impress at the World Cup.

Burn was introduced from the bench once more in the quarter-finals.

He was only on the pitch for nine minutes but still made three trademark headed clearances as England held on to beat Norway 2-1 in extra time.

Thomas Tuchel, who gave Burn his international debut last year, leads his Three Lions side into a huge World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday night, live on talkSPORT.