Matt Canavan busts head open during Parliament touch footy game

Politics is not for the faint of heart, but it's rare an MP will actually get injured when they visit Canberra.

That's what happened when Matt Canavan participated in a "friendly" game of touch footy at Parliament House yesterday.

The Nationals Senator appeared on Today this morning, sporting a large bandage across his left eye.

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"Matty, just first up, are you okay mate," a concerned Karl Stefanovic asked his guest once he saw his injury.

But the 43-year-old was all smiles as he joked about how he really busted his head open.

"It's pretty tough defending the coal industry down here in the ACT, who knew it was so unpopular," he laughed.

"It's nothing like that - I just had a bit of a head clash on the touch footy field yesterday morning here in Parliament House.

"Politics is a blood sport of course, but I'll be right."

See the full chat with Canavan and Monique Ryan in the video above