Jermaine Pennant says he needed more than 50 stitches to his leg after he was the victim of a dog attack.
The former Liverpool and Arsenal winger was walking his American Akita, named King, off its lead in a north London park.
He described what happened via social media: "So I was attacked by a German shepherd. I tried to protect King but the dog got my leg, I was on the floor with the dog still attached with no sign of letting go, until King intervened as he didn't know what was going on.
"But the minute he did he fought the dog off and saved what could've been an horrendous situation for me.
"King was unhurt with a little nip on his leg, but had blood covered all over him which wasn't mine, at this point I forgot the agony I was in, and my heart sank, but it wasn't King's.
"My hero. Still protecting me and trying to look after me."
Pennant later told The Sun: "It was really scary. The other dog had a go at King, so I stepped in to protect him.
"The next thing I know, it was attacking me.
"I was on the floor and it was on my leg for at least five seconds.
"I felt this huge pressure. Imagine the force of a dog bite.
"King jumped in to protect me.
"The two dogs were really going at it, and then King stood by my side until help arrived.
"He saved my life. If King had been a smaller dog, there would have been no chance."
Pennant said that he took an Uber to hospital to be treated for four bite marks to his right leg.
Now 43, Pennant played in the Premier League most notably for Arsenal and Liverpool but also for Leeds United, Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Stoke. He played in Spain's LaLiga for Villareal too.