Cazorla: I could have lost my leg

SANTI CAZORLA nearly lost his right leg to gangrene after an operation on his achilles tendon. The Spain midfielder, 32, last played for Arsenal in October 2016 and had surgery in December. The wound became infected, resulting in the loss of eight centimetres in the tendon in his right ankle. In an interview with Marca, Cazorla showed the skin graft from a section of tattooed skin from his left arm. ‘If you get to walk again with your son in the garden, be satisfied, they told me,’ said Cazorla, who has had eight operations and is targeting a return in January.

GETTY IMAGES/MARCA Lucky man: Cazorla shows where the skin taken from his forearm was grafted onto his heel