'Messi of Matadors' gored after 1,100lb bull fights back in Spain
‘Messi of Matadors’, 26, is brutally gored and rushed to hospital as 1,100lb bull fights back in Spain
- Andrés Roca Rey, 26, sustained the worst injuries of his eight-year career
The so-called ‘Messi of Matadors’ has been seriously injured in a bullfighting incident, crushed by a 467kg (1,100lb) bull against the barriers at an event in Santiago, Spain.
Andrés Roca Rey, 26, sustained multiple injuries and bruises covering his body after being gored and was immediately taken to hospital on Tuesday.
The bull, named Viruta, charged at the Peruvian, dragging him back into the boards around the stadium and throwing him into the air.
Roca Rey was seen left slumped against the wall as others rushed in to distract the bull and pull him to safety.
While Roca Rey has had his fair share of injuries over an eight-year career, spectators said this was the worst goring to date.
Peruvian Bullfighter Andres Roca Rey during the fifth bullfight at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 11, 2023
Peruvian bullfighter Andres Roca Rey performs a pass on a bull with a capote during a bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain on July 13, 2023
The moment the bull made contact with the matador, 26, at the Feria de Santiago
A cape is left on the floor as the bull rams Roca Rey into the barriers in Santiago, Spain
The Medical Service of Santander’s Plaza de Toros issued two reports, referring to a ‘polytrauma affecting the left knee’ and ‘multiple bruises on the neck, face, right thigh and left knee’.
The bullfighter underwent more tests on Wednesday to check for further injuries.
The goring followed the killing of two bulls in the fourth bullfight at the Feria de Santiago celebration.
In the video, partner Cayetano Rivera was seen lunging in to help Roca Rey, suffering a rib fracture and edema in the process.
On Instagram, Roca Rey wrote: ‘Cayetano, I want to thank you because yesterday you showed your camaraderie and your contempt for life to save mine.’
Rivera said the risk ‘was worth it’.
The matador was told to ‘remain in absolute rest’ for at least 48 hours after the attack.
On Wednesday, he was reported to have returned to his home in Seville and already plans to appear in Huelva on August 3.
Roca Rey is the biggest star in his sport, filling stadia the world over, The Telegraph reported.
Like Lionel Messi, he moved from South America to Spain in childhood to focus on his sporting career.
Andres Roca Rey performs a pass on a Garcigrande bull during the festival of La Madeleine at the Plumacon arena in Mont-de-Marsan, southwestern France, on July 19, 2023
Peruvian Bullfighter Andres Roca Rey during the fifth bullfight at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 11, 2023
Last year, the bullfighter was gored in Bilbao, but ignored doctor’s advice to continue the contest.
In 2015, Roca Rey lost two teeth after a bull’s horn struck him in the face at an event at the Plaza Nuevo Progreso in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The bullfighter, then 19, was taken to a local hospital for treatment and medics said he had been lucky not to have suffered a more serious injury.
Roca Rey told local media soon after that he was anxious to participate in his next bullfight – in order to rebuild his reputation.
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