Emiliano Martinez Cried Every Night Over a Finger That Will Never Heal

• Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez says the finger he broke at the Europa League final will never return to normal, per Daily Mail.
• He cried over the X-ray, played the World Cup with a specially made Adidas glove and trained with volleyballs.
• Martinez is now out with a broken jaw and still expects to need surgery on the finger.

The Fist That Cannot Close

In an interview with Gaston Edul’s YouTube channel, Martinez held up a clenched fist that could not close around the broken finger. “It will stay like this for the rest of my life,” he said. The 34-year-old broke and dislocated the finger at Aston Villa’s Europa League final win over Freiburg earlier this year. He then went to the World Cup with Argentina. Surgery would have ruled him out of the tournament, so he chose to play on with the finger wrapped.

Tears Over the X-Ray

Martinez cried when the doctor showed him the X-ray. He feared he would miss the World Cup. He says he cried every night after that, the finger swollen like a sausage.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni answered with a message. Whether Martinez made it or not, Scaloni would back him, and he told the goalkeeper to come anyway. They decided against surgery. Adidas made Martinez a special glove, and he admitted it meant he could not grasp the ball properly. Martinez recalls the day before the Algeria game, when he was diving with one arm, “diving like a zombie”.

“I could only feel four fingers,” he said. A normal football was out of the question, so he trained with volleyballs until the Switzerland game. He rates the effect of the finger at the World Cup ten out of ten. “I was practically a zombie,” he said. “Every time my hand touched the ground, I saw stars.”

The Finger Is Still Broken

Argentina’s run ended in the final, and the finger did not recover with it. Martinez had another X-ray after the tournament and it showed the bone still broken in half. “I still play through pain today. I’ll eventually need surgery,” he said.

He also links the finger to a transfer that collapsed. Juventus had targeted him, and Martinez says a move to a club fell through after another X-ray showed the finger broken again. He says he was told he needed surgery, but Chelsea “didn’t care”.

Chelsea signed him for £7.5million this summer. He took the number one place from Robert Sanchez, who went on loan to Como for the rest of the season.

Out With a Broken Jaw

Argentina reached a second World Cup final in a row this summer and lost the final to Spain after extra time. Martinez came within one match of helping the holders keep the trophy.

His summer also brought the Villa to Chelsea deal that ended his time at Aston Villa.

He made six appearances for Chelsea before a broken jaw against Everton on 17 October ended his run. He has had surgery on the jaw, and Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders is deputising in his absence.

Martinez has no regrets about the finger. He told Edul the finger will never go back to how it was and that he is still playing with pain. He called the injury one of the risks you take for the national team and said he would do it again. The operation he says he will eventually need is still waiting.

WRITTEN BY

George Howson

George Howson is a Futbol Chronicle contributor and accredited journalist with over 20 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, George has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing deep knowledge and first-hand insight to every match report and analysis he writes.

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