Uruguayan Goalkeeper Juan Obelar Forced to Retire After Chopping Fingers Off

Uruguayan goalkeeper Juan Obelar has retired from football after accidentally chopping four fingers off.

The 34-year-old stopper was only left with a thumb on his left hand after tearing four digits off in a domestic mishap that has forced him to call time on playing sports.

Obelar, who once represented Montevideo-based club Penarol, discussed the wood-cutting machine incident with local reporters, per Charles Reynolds of the Daily Mail:

"

I feel so awful, this is the most horrendous thing that has ever happened to me. It is a very painful moment.

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.

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

"

Obelar was without a club when the event took place and had recently taken a break from football, per Reynolds' article.

The goalkeeper’s plans to return in January have now been scuppered, ensuring his residency between the sticks is over in a professional capacity.

The distraught player’s career highlight was the Honduran league win he experienced with Marathon in 2008. He failed to assert himself at Colombian side Millonarios after this success and moved back to Montevideo with Fenix in 2011.

Daniel Agger	Overstretched when stopping a dumbbell from falling on his foot, causing a rib injury.
Sergio Aguero	Injured his foot when riding his son's mini-motorcross bike.
Rio Ferdinand	Suffered a tendon strain whilst watching television.
Michael Stensgaard	Forced to retire after suffering a shoulder injury as he folded down his wife's ironing board.
Alessandro Nesta	Required surgery after rupturing tendons in his left thumb during a marathon PlayStation session.

Obelar will receive surgery to try to reconstruct his hand, although there is no way his fingers can be reattached.

Remarkably, he isn’t the only former Penarol player to have suffered a career-ending injury in horrific fashion. Uruguayan striker Dario Silva had his right leg amputated after a car crash in Sept. 2006, immediately ending the veteran's hopes of playing on.

Silva eventually made a remarkable comeback in a 2011 charity game, per Steve Michaels of Goal.com, but his professional career was understandably over.

Obelar will now have to rebuild his life without the prospect of playing football again.

The incident serves as a reminder to all footballers of how short their shelf life could be. It also acts as partial justification for their incredible salaries during a career that usually lasts little more than 15 years.

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