Carlton Cole has revealed the bizarre story of being tricked into taking Viagra while away on England duty.
The former West Ham striker featured for the Three Lions just seven times in his career, but was the victim of a prank on one of his call-ups to represent his country.
In an interview with Des Kelly for Hayters, Cole revealed how he ‘trained with a boner’ after Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe gave him a blue pill – which they claimed to him was ‘multivitamins’.
Cole was unaware at first of what was going on, while his England team-mates laughed at his situation.
He told Kelly: ‘I think it was Wazza and Jermain Defoe at the back of the bus, I was trying to be a good boy at the front and I’m going ‘I forgot my vitamins – what am I going to do here’.
Carlton Cole has revealed that he was pranked before an England training session
![Cole told the story of how Wayne Rooney (left) and Jermain Defoe (right) tricked him into taking a Viagra pill](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/21/14/82734559-13223757-image-m-79_1711032752256.jpg)
Cole told the story of how Wayne Rooney (left) and Jermain Defoe (right) tricked him into taking a Viagra pill
![Cole said the pair had told him that blue pill he was given was 'multi-vitamins' (pictured with Rooney and David Beckham](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/21/14/82734707-13223757-image-m-81_1711032874995.jpg)
Cole said the pair had told him that blue pill he was given was ‘multi-vitamins’ (pictured with Rooney and David Beckham
‘They go ‘oh you forgot your vitamins, I’ve got some here for you’. They say it’s multi-vitamins and it covers everything.
‘I’ve trotted off to the back and gone ‘perfect, oh it’s blue’ then bosh it down me.
‘Na, I didn’t know about Viagra these days. These days, what’s Viagra? I’m a well-endowed man, it works all the time and I didn’t know what a blue tablet was like back then. It was only till afterwards.
‘I get to the training ground and I’m thinking ‘is it me, what’s going on, what’s this doing?’ I was having a hard-on with a bunch of lads around me and I’m thinking ‘this is not great’.
‘I’ve got my shorts on and my slips and it’s perturbing out, and I’m going ‘what’s going on here?’ – I still hadn’t clocked on.
‘I looked at the back of the bus and everyone’s laughing at me. Mate, start training and I think ‘na this doesn’t feel right’.
Cole though joked that the unfortunate situation made him one of the quickest players on the day.
He added: ‘Everyone’s cracking up in the training session and everyone can see the bulge and I really couldn’t hide it. I trained with a boner.
![Cole said that his England team-mates all laughed at him but joked that it made him 'really quick' during training](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/21/14/82734641-13223757-image-m-83_1711032918583.jpg)
Cole said that his England team-mates all laughed at him but joked that it made him ‘really quick’ during training
‘I was really quick though, I had the three legs, tripods, galloping.’
Cole had seven caps for England – all of which came during Fabio Capello’s time in charge of the Three Lions.
His best stint of his club career came at West Ham where he netted 68 times in 293 games.