Emiliano Martinez said his finger injury will never go back to how it was and that he is still playing with pain. The goalkeeper also said it was decided that surgery is needed to fix the problem, but he has chosen not to have an operation.
Martinez describes the injury
As cited by the Daily Mail, Martinez told Argentine journalist Gaston Edul: "It will never go back to how it was. I am still playing with pain."
He also said: "The day before Algeria I was diving with one arm, diving like a zombie."
Martinez said: "If I put my hand down I was seeing stars. It was brutal. Every single night I was crying because my finger looked like a sausage."
He added: "But these are the risks you take for the national team, I’d do it again."
Surgery and transfer claim
Martinez said it was determined that surgery is necessary to fix the finger problem, but he has chosen not to have an operation.
He added: "I got an x-ray and it was broken again. That is when a transfer to a club fell through because of the finger."
Martinez also said: "They said it was possible for me to play like that, that I needed surgery, but Chelsea didn’t, they didn’t care. One day I will need surgery."
When the injury happened
TEAMtalk reported that Martinez suffered the finger injury while warming up for Aston Villa ahead of their Europa League final clash with Freiburg.
Current absence
TEAMtalk says Martinez is currently sidelined with a fractured jaw.
