A Spanish matador was struggling to recover today after suffering horrific injuries when a bull's horn entered his throat and exited his mouth. The half-ton bull caught Julio Aparicio under the chin when the matador lost his balance and stumbled while executing a pass in Madrid. Aparicio, 41, was tossed into the air and landed on the sand of the bullring, spurting blood. Surgeons worked for 6 hours to reconstruct his throat, jaw, tongue and the roof of his mouth. He's out of critical danger and is conscious, reports the Telegraph.
"It was a serious goring. Almost his entire mouth was destroyed. It's too early to talk of recovery, " said Aparicio's father. The matador comes from a famous bullfighting family, and was a major draw to the San Isidro bullfighting festival where the injury occurred. A photo of the goring ignited a furious debate in Spain, where some protested that it was too graphic, while others deemed it a powerful argument to end the sport.
(Read more Juilo Aparicio stories.)
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