Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has revealed he rejected surgery on a finger injury to ensure he could represent Argentina at the World Cup. The 33-year-old sustained the injury during the warm-up before the Europa League final victory over Freiburg last month.
Injury Details and Recovery
The injury forced Martinez to miss the final Premier League match of the season against Manchester City, as well as Argentina's warm-up friendlies against Honduras and Iceland. Despite this, he has played every minute of the reigning champions' group stage matches, including victories over Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. He is set to start the last-32 tie against Cape Verde on Friday.
Speaking ahead of that match, Martinez opened up about his decision. "I can now play without a finger kit for the next game," he told Diario Ole, via Mundo Albiceleste. "I decided not to have surgery, I had a bad time. I came here very prepared, I still haven’t trained with the group, always with [Martin] Tocalli (Argentina's goalkeeping coach)."
Support from Coach and Mental Struggles
Martinez admitted the decision was difficult. "On the pitch, I try not to suffer. When they told me I had to have surgery, millions of questions came to me, but the coach (Lionel Scaloni) supported me. He told me no matter the game, he would always support me."
The goalkeeper's World Cup campaign has been overshadowed by speculation about his future at Aston Villa, with strong links to Juventus. Martinez was also linked with a move away from Villa Park last summer amid interest from Manchester United.
Fans are left wondering whether Martinez will remain Villa's first-choice goalkeeper next season.
