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Uruguayan goalkeeper forced to retire after losing four fingers in horrific accident

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Uruguayan goalkeeper Juan Obelar has been left with only a thumb remaining on his left hand after accidentally putting the rest of his hand through a wood plane.

Goalkeeper Juan Obelar started his professional career with Peñarol in 2002
Photo: El País
The 24-year-old, who was without a club at the time of the accident, had been taking six months off from football before a planned comeback in January.

"I was doing a few things for my house, putting wood through a plane and the next thing I know the machine ripped off four fingers," he told local media.

"I was on my own, I didn't have help from anyone and the only digit I had left was my thumb."

The former Peñarol player will undergo reconstructive surgery but has been told there is no chance of saving any of the four fingers.

He added: "They have already told me I am not going to recover a single finger but they will try to rebuild me a bit."

The fact that Obelar was a goalkeeper meant his retirement from the game was inevitable.

Obelar said: "I feel so awful, this is the most horrendous thing that has ever happened to me. It's painful, but God knows why these things happen."

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