A man in central China was apparently such a big football fan that he was left with a paralysed face after staying up all week to watch the 2022 World Cup.

The 26-year-old man, named only by his surname Mr Cao in local media in Wuhan, in the Hubei province, slept for just two hours every day since the World Cup began as he stayed up to watch every single game.

And in the mornings, he would ride his motorbike to work before again staying up all night to watch the games.

Mr Cao said: “On November 30, I slept for two hours after watching the match, and when I woke up, I felt extremely tired.”

He believed it was because he had not slept much, so he simply went about his day.

But after some cold air blew in his face, he felt his lips suddenly tilting to the side, and for some reason, he was unable to move his eyelids.

“I didn’t think much about it and decided to rest for a bit in the office. But after a while, my condition didn’t seem to improve and it was affecting my work progress”, Mr Cao added.

He went to the local hospital where he was diagnosed with facial palsy.

The doctor told him that his lack of sleep combined with the cold breeze caused him to lose control of half his face.

Mr Cao is now undergoing acupuncture treatment and does frequent facial massages to regain his facial control.

He said that the treatments have proved quite helpful and he now urges netizens to take better care of themselves.