Former Premier League winger Jermaine Pennant needs 50 stitches after German Shepherd attack

The attack

Former Premier League winger Jermaine Pennant was walking his two dogs in north London in the week before 26 October 2026 when a German Shepherd bit into his leg. According to English press reports, his American Akita, King, was not on a lead when the two dogs met. Pennant said the other dog advanced on King, so he stepped between them to protect him. The German Shepherd then turned on him, and the bite held him on the ground while the dog would not let go. King then came in and drove the attacking dog away, and Pennant has credited his dog with preventing a far worse outcome.

Pennant told The Sun that the dog held on to his leg for at least five seconds and that he felt enormous pressure from the bite. He said it was very frightening, and that the attacking dog did not loosen its grip until King intervened. On Instagram he later wrote that he had forgotten the agony he was in once he saw the blood covering King. The blood was not his, and he described King as the one who had protected him from a much more serious situation.

Injuries and treatment

Pennant suffered four bite wounds and needed more than 50 stitches in his right leg, according to the BBC and LBC. Adnkronos reports that he was told he may need plastic surgery for one of the wounds, and SAPO says he had to stay in hospital after the attack. Pennant said he declined to report the attack to the police. He gave no details about the German Shepherd or its owner, so the account of the attack rests on his own statements.

Pennant said King came through the fight with only a small bite to a paw. Describing the aftermath, he wrote that the blood covering his dog was not his own.

“King was unhurt with a little nip on his leg, but had blood covered all over him which wasn't mine.”

He told followers that he was fine and the dog was fine, and he described the injuries as the sort of thing that happens.

Instagram post and reaction

Pennant shared the account on Instagram alongside a photo of himself with a bandaged leg on a sofa, with King beside him. He thanked his partner, Mimmi Montgomery, for looking after them both. In the same post he called King his protector and a legend, and wrote that the dog was still looking after him after the attack.

“My hero still protecting me and trying to look after me.”

Adnkronos and BBC reports both describe the picture and message in similar terms, and no other party has commented publicly in the coverage. The account comes only from Pennant, with no police report filed.

Background on the wider issue

Pennant, who now works as a talkSPORT pundit, made 231 Premier League appearances in a 19-year career before retiring in 2018. Coverage of the attack also cited records showing 31,920 dog attacks on people in England and Wales in 2024, a 2% increase on 2023. The figures place Pennant's incident within a wider rise in reported attacks, although the articles do not link his case to any specific official inquiry. Pennant's own account remains the main source for what happened to him and his dogs.