Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, on loan at Monza, has posted an update from his hospital bed that he and his family are ‘all fine’ after the player was victim of a stabbing on Thursday while out shopping.
The attack at a shopping centre in Italy involved six victims, with local news reporting that one had tragically died. Mari was admitted to hospital in Milan where he underwent surgery to repair muscles in his back where the knife had entered, but is expected to make a full recovery.
With a thumbs up, Mari has now taken to Twitter to assure fans he is doing well.
“After the hard time we experienced, both my family and I want to communicate that fortunately we are all fine despite the circumstances, and to thank all the messages of support and affection that we are receiving,” the 29-year-old said.
Mari is set to be able to resume training after two months of recovery, with the expectation that he could make a comeback on the pitch in around three months.
Monza chief executive Andrea Galliani told Sky Italy, however, that the player is potentially still very lucky to be alive, even if he will soon recover.
“I fear it’ll be three months before he can be back on the pitch as he can start training after two and put in a big effort as he makes progress,” Galliani said.
“What I’ve understood from the doctor is that if he hadn’t had strong muscles in his back, the knife probably would’ve gone in more deeply and he would’ve died. Being an athlete certainly helped him in terms of having strong muscles that stopped the knife.”
The central defender’s father has confirmed to Cadena Cope that on Thursday night he spoke to his son, who told them he was “fine” and that he “loved them very much.”
His father added: “These have been very worrying hours for us. They started calling me at 8pm and my heart has skipped a beat.” However, he subsequently confirmed that being able to speak to his son has eased his fears.
He continued: “Veronica (the footballer’s partner) has not told us how it happened, but she has told us that she has seen a person die in front of her. She has reassured us confirming that they are fine and that everything has been a fright for them.”
Mari, who is on-loan with Monza, will spend the night in hospital where he will continue to undergo observation from medics and he is expected to undergo surgery on Friday to reduce muscle damage to his back.
A Monza statement read: “Pablo Mari has quite a deep cut to his back, but fortunately it did not reach any vital organs like the lungs or anything else. His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly. He has some lesions, but not very serious. He is conscious and getting stitches.”
