Sports · Football · 2 hrs ago
Emiliano Martinez says World Cup injury left his finger permanently damaged
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez played at the World Cup with a serious finger injury after breaking and dislocating it before Aston Villa’s Europa League final in May.
He feared the injury would keep him out of Argentina’s title defence and says he cried after seeing the X-rays.
Martinez avoided surgery so he could represent Argentina, with support from coach Lionel Scaloni.
He wore a protective glove, but says the injury made it difficult to grasp the ball and caused severe pain.
He says his finger will never return to normal and that he will need surgery in the future.
Martinez is also recovering from a broken jaw sustained in Chelsea’s win over Everton, according to the report.
Emiliano Martinez says an injured finger will never return to normal after he played through the injury at the 2026 World Cup.
He said he avoided surgery because it would have ruled him out of the tournament.
A special glove protected the finger but made it difficult for him to grasp the ball.
Martinez described playing in pain and said he cried every night because of the injury.
He said the injury also caused a transfer to a club in Italy to fall through.
- Who
- Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s goalkeeper.
- What
- He played at the 2026 World Cup with a broken finger and says it will never return to normal.
- When
- The injury occurred before the World Cup; Martinez discussed it in an interview published on 30 October 2026.
- Where
- At the 2026 World Cup with Argentina. The sources do not state where the tournament matches took place.
- Why
- He chose to avoid surgery because it would have ruled him out of the tournament and said he would take the same risk again for the national team.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Martinez broke and dislocated a finger in the warm-up before Aston Villa’s Europa League final against Freiburg.
Martinez chose not to have surgery, which would have ruled him out of the tournament.
He played with a special protective glove and said he struggled to grasp the ball.
Martinez discussed the injury in an interview with journalist Gaston Edul on YouTube.
- Injured player
- Emiliano Martinez
- Injury
- Broken and dislocated finger
- Tournament
- 2026 World Cup
- Protective equipment
- Special glove provided by Adidas
- Interview
- Gaston Edul’s YouTube channel
- Reported transfer fee
- £7.5 million for Martinez’s summer move to Chelsea
3 sources
« Quand je baissais la main, j'avais l'impression de voir des étoiles » : Emiliano Martinez raconte comment il a joué la Coupe du monde 2026 avec l'Argentine malgré un doigt cassé
Emiliano Martinez reveals his finger 'won't ever return' to normal after injury left him playing like a 'zombie' during World Cup: 'I cried every day'
Martinez spricht über Verletzung vor WM: Finger sah aus "wie eine Blutwurst"
What people are saying
It will never go back to how it was
I am still playing with pain.
Every single night I was crying because my finger looked like a sausage.
But these are the risks you take for the national team, I’d do it again.