Goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez recently had his jaw broken in an incident he can barely remember, but it's a different injury that has marked him for life.
The Argentina No. 1 broke his finger in Aston Villa's Europa League final win over Freiburg on May 20. He felt some pain during the celebrations, and after being examined, he realized he had broken the ring finger on his right hand.
"I said, 'No! I’m not making to the World Cup!' and started to cry. I was out," Martinez told Argentine reporter Gaston Edul on the Argentine reporter's podcast. Argentina manager Lionel "Scaloni sent me a message saying, 'Whether or not you make it I’m going to back you.'"
Along with Argentina goalkeeping coach Martín Tocalli and trainer Dani Martinez, Dibu
opted to skip surgery and fight through the pain to backstop Argentina during the World Cup.
That led to a painful couple of weeks, with Martinez saying he would see stars in training sessions as he tried not to use his right hand to get up after making a save. Most nights he said he was in pain until midnight with his finger looking "like a blood sausage."
Eventually, he was able to find the right mix of a finger cast fitted on top of the digit and a specialized glove made by Adidas that helped him protect the hand, though Martinez said it affected him significantly during the tournament, in which Argentina made the final and lost 1-0 to Spain in extra time. Martinez played every minute of the World Cup, making 20 saves and conceding eight goals over the course of eight matches.
The goalkeeper said decision not only allowed him to play the World Cup but also led him to his current club, Chelsea, with an Italian team (reportedly Juventus) set to sign him from Villa but opting against it because of the finger.
He's currently out of action for Chelsea after a collision with Everton center back Jarrad Branthwaite that knocked the goalkeeper out cold. His head and neck were stabilized as he left the field in a stretcher, and Martinez said in the interview that he remembers the foul but little else.
While he may return earlier than anticipated, at the time of the interview he said he was unable to eat solid food, instead eating his normal diet after having it blended to the consistency of baby food.
The broken jaw soon will clear up, he said, but the operation to fix the fourth finger will keep waiting - though doctors have warned any procedure won't return it to the way it would have had he undergone the surgery and missed the World Cup as recommended.
Martinez was clear. Despite the pain, he would do it again.
"We represented the country as well as possible. At the end, what stays is what you represent to the country," he said. "I went back to Argentina, which I didn’t want to. I was really bad. My kid asked me to go back, and I went and felt a lot more love than when we won in Qatar."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Argentina goalkeeper says finger will never be same after skipping surgery
