Martinez reveals he cried nightly over broken finger that almost ended his World Cup dream

Emiliano Martinez played through the 2026 World Cup with a broken finger he describes as affecting him “ten out of ten”, revealing in a new interview that he cried every night from the pain and still needs surgery months after Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time final defeat to Spain.

The 34-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper broke his finger during Aston Villa’s Europa League final victory against Freiburg and was immediately convinced his World Cup was over. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni intervened personally, messaging Martinez to tell him: “Whether you make it or not, I’ll back you… come anyway.”

With surgery ruled out to preserve his chances of playing, Adidas manufactured a specially modified glove to protect the injury. Martinez trained with volleyballs rather than standard footballs right up until Argentina’s group-stage match against Switzerland, unable to close his hand into a full fist.

“When the doctor showed me the X-ray, I started crying because I thought I would miss the World Cup,” Martinez told Los Edul. “I could only feel four fingers. I was practically a zombie.”

The emotional and physical toll extended well beyond the training pitch. “Every time my hand touched the ground, I saw stars,” he said. “I cried until midnight because my finger was swollen like a blood sausage.”

Martinez confirmed the damage is permanent. Demonstrating an inability to close his broken finger into a fist, he said: “It will stay like this for the rest of my life.” A post-tournament X-ray showed the finger remained broken in half, and he acknowledged he continues to play through daily pain while an operation is still pending.

Argentina reached the final of the competition — their bid to retain the title they won in Qatar in 2022 — before falling to Spain in extra time.

Martinez’s summer then took another difficult turn. After completing a £7.5 million move to Chelsea, he quickly displaced Robert Sanchez as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, with the Spaniard sent on loan to Como. However, Martinez suffered a broken jaw in a match against Everton and has since undergone surgery, with Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders deputising in his absence.