Arsenal star Pablo Mari has said he had ‘luck’ on his side after he avoided life-threatening injuries after being stabbed in Milan yesterday. The centre-back will require an operation after the attack where at least four others were injured and a 30-year-old man is believed to have died.
Mari, who is currently on loan at Serie A side AC Monza, was out shopping with his wife and son when the attack took place. He received a stab wound to the back and was taken to hospital where his injuries were deemed not to be life-threatening.
He will undergo an operation later today to correct a muscle injury in his back. It is not yet known how long the Spaniard will be out of action for.
He has since spoken to his manager at Monza, Raffaele Palladino and the club’s CEO Adriano Galliani according to the Italian publication La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
He said: “Today I had luck because I saw a person die in front of me.
“I was with the trolley with my child inside and I felt an excruciating pain in my back. Then that man stabbed another in the throat.”
The news of the incident broke during Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to PSV in the Europa League last night and the club were quick to update fans on Mari’s welfare.
A statement released on the club’s website read: “We are all shocked to hear the dreadful news about the stabbing in Italy, which has put a number of people in hospital including our on-loan centre-back Pablo Mari.
“We have been in contact with Pablo’s agent who has told us he’s in hospital and is not seriously hurt. Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident.”
Monza’s CEO Galliani later detailed how lucky Mari had been, suggesting his height prevented the attacker from harming any of his vital organs.
“Pablo Mari had a fairly deep wound on his back, which fortunately did not touch vital organs such as the lungs or other,” he explained. “He was probably saved from his height.
“From a psychological point of view it seems to me that there are no problems even if I am not a doctor.
“This is shocking news. I send a message of closeness and affection to his family.”
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