Emiliano Martinez's Painful Journey: From Injury to Chelsea
Emiliano Martinez has never been shy about suffering for his football. Now, the Chelsea and Argentina goalkeeper has laid bare just how much that sacrifice has cost him – and how much it still hurts.
The 34-year-old admits a serious finger injury he suffered earlier this year will never properly heal, leaving him with permanent damage, daily pain and a career that has already taken one unexpected turn in the transfer market.
The night the scans changed everything
The problem began in May, in the most brutal way possible for a goalkeeper: a broken and dislocated finger in the warm-up before Aston Villa’s Europa League final win over Freiburg.
One slip, one impact, and suddenly his place in Argentina’s World Cup title defence was in doubt. The scans, he says, were devastating. For a player who had become a national hero in Qatar, the idea of missing the chance to defend that crown cut deep.
The medical advice was clear. Surgery would fix the finger but rule him out of the tournament. Rest would help but not in time. The sensible option was obvious.
He chose the other one.
Backed firmly by Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, Martinez decided to play on. Adidas produced a customised glove, the strapping heavy and rigid, designed more like armour than equipment. It protected the finger, but at a cost: he struggled to properly wrap his hand around the ball, the most basic act of his profession.
He played anyway.
‘Diving like a zombie’
Speaking to Argentine journalist Gaston Edul on YouTube, Martinez described a training ground existence that sounded closer to a horror story than elite preparation.
"The day before Algeria I was diving with one arm, diving like a zombie," he said. "If I put my hand down I was seeing stars. It was brutal. Every single night I was crying because my finger looked like a sausage."
The pain forced him to change how he worked. One-armed dives. Adjusted drills. Constant calculation of what he could and could not risk. Nights spent staring at a swollen, misshapen finger and wondering how long it could last.
He knew the damage was serious. He knew it might never fully repair. He kept going.
"It will never go back to how it was," he admitted. "I am still playing with pain. But these are the risks you take for the national team, I’d do it again."
No regret. Just consequence.
The transfer that vanished on an x-ray
Those consequences followed him into the summer.
As clubs circled and the market began to move, Martinez came close to a major switch. A transfer to Juventus, one of Serie A’s giants, advanced far enough for medical checks and detailed imaging.
That was where everything collapsed.
"I got an x-ray and it was broken again," he revealed. "That is when a transfer to a club fell through because of the finger."
The same injury he had played through for Argentina had come back to block a move that might have redefined the final years of his club career. One scan, one verdict, and Juventus walked away.
His future shifted again.
Chelsea’s gamble
With Italy off the table, Chelsea stepped in. The London club, rebuilding and reshaping, saw enough in Martinez to commit £7.5 million despite the lingering damage in his hand.
"They said it was possible for me to play like that, that I needed surgery, but Chelsea didn't, they didn't care," he said. "One day I will need surgery."
For now, the club accepts the risk. Martinez accepts the pain. Both know that at some point a surgeon’s knife will become unavoidable.
Until then, he keeps going as he always has: strapping, managing, enduring.
Another setback in west London
The cruel twist is that the injury currently keeping him out at Chelsea has nothing to do with his hand.
Martinez is sidelined with a broken jaw, suffered earlier this month in Chelsea’s win over Everton. One more fracture, one more recovery programme, one more fight back to fitness.
His focus in the short term is simple: heal the jaw, return to full training, reclaim his place in the starting XI at Stamford Bridge.
The long term is more complicated. The finger still hurts. It still limits him. It still waits for the surgery he keeps postponing in order to play.
When he does finally walk back out in Chelsea colours, he will do so as he has done for Argentina and for much of this year: a goalkeeper carrying permanent pain, still trying to impose himself on a new club, a new league chapter and a career that refuses to follow a smooth path.
