Arnold Schwarzenegger has reassured fans that there is "nothing to worry about" after a video of him being drop-kicked by a man went viral

Schwarzenegger admitted he had no idea what had happened to him until he saw the video online.

He later tweeted: "Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. I’m just glad the idiot didn’t interrupt my Snapchat. (sic)"

The Hollywood legend also asked his 4.28 million followers not to share the footage and instead support the "hero" young athletes competing at the event, which is named after the 71-year-old star, featured on his Snapchat.

He added: "Do me a favor: instead of sharing the video of the guy who wants to be famous, watch some of our @ArnoldSports athletes like this young hero proving that fitness is for everyone who deserve to be famous. They’re on my Snapchat. (sic)”

He continued "We have 90 sports here in South Africa at the @ArnoldSports, and 24,000 athletes of all ages and abilities inspiring all of us to get off the couch. Let’s put this spotlight on them."

When Schwarzenegger was visiting Johannesburg for the multi-national, multi-sport athletic event in 2016, he had another dramatic encounter, this time with an elephant which blocked the road in front of his group's car, before walking around the vehicle and chasing it as it drove away.

He shared a video of the incident on YouTube at the time, and wrote: "I couldn't have written this safari encounter better if it was a movie."

The clip shows the driver shutting off the engine to avoid scaring the bull elephant, but when he turns the car back on the animal, it bellows and backs away.

One passenger could be heard asking: "Is he backing up because of the engine?"

The driver tried to reassure his passengers by saying he was worried about the animal scratching the vehicle, Schwarzenegger replied: "No, he's going to charge us."

As the car sped away with the elephant behind, the actor exclaimed: "Oh s**t".

While it was nerve-wracking for those in the car, the former Governor of California stressed how much he is "in awe" of the majestic mammals.

He wrote: "I'm absolutely in awe of these beautiful, strong animals, even though some of us had to change our pants after this.

"We need to stop killing them - take a photo, not a shot. Would you rather be able to experience these creatures or a hunk of ivory? I thought so."