Chelsea star Emi Martinez permanently disfigured from injury and still requires surgery

Martinez broke his finger at the Europa League final and played the entire World Cup in severe pain; he later suffered a shattered jaw at Chelsea and requires further surgery.

Emi Martinez has revealed the extent of injuries sustained over the past year, including a broken finger he played through during Argentina's World Cup campaign and a shattered jaw he recently underwent surgery to correct.

Martinez broke his finger during the warm-up before Aston Villa's Europa League final victory against Freiburg in May. Facing a six-week recovery if he had surgery immediately, he chose to play through the World Cup instead, wearing custom Adidas gloves for protection. He described the pain as severe, saying he would "see stars" when diving and cried every night as his finger swelled. Despite the injury, he played every minute of Argentina's tournament run, which ended in a 1-0 final defeat to Spain.

The injury later cost him a move to Juventus, who deemed him unable to play in his condition. Chelsea signed him anyway, and he has since undergone surgery on his jaw following a collision during the 2-0 win at Everton. Martinez remains optimistic about a quicker recovery than initially expected, though he confirmed he still requires additional surgery on his finger, which will never fully return to normal due to the bone being permanently out of place.