Crocodile bit me, says Robben

London - Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben offered a bizarre explanation for a mystery hand injury sustained at the team's training base in Qatar on Saturday, saying he had been bitten by a crocodile.

The website of German newspaper Bild published a photograph of the Dutchman apparently with the fingers of his left hand bound up with tape.

He is quoted as saying: "When I got a ball from a hole near the pool, a crocodile has bitten me!"

The club offered no explanation for Robben's claim, although crocodiles are not a native species in the desert state and being bitten by one appears to be extremely unlikely.