28 May 2008

MADRID - Although opponents of bullfighting might complain that the odds are stacked in the humans' favour, there are two bullfighters who this week might beg to differ.

Madrid's San Isidro season of bullfights is well underway, and in the last few days, two bullfighters have been badly injured.

The first was the veteran Frascuelo, who, at the age of 59, makes few appearances these days.

However, when he stepped into the ring on Sunday, he suffered a severe goring at the horns of his first bull, picking up a 20-centimetrr wound in each thigh. Frascuelo is now recovering well in hospital, and surprisingly is not complaining of his leg injuries, but rather back problems, as the result of a crushed vertebrae.

On Monday it was the turn of El Ruso, a bandillero, responsible for jamming metal spikes into the bull prior to the matador's performance. His injuries from a goring in the backside left him with a 20-centimetre injury in the anus and a broken coxis.

El Ruso is currently being treated in the same hospital as Frascuelo, where doctors say that although he is in a serious condition, he is "in very high spirits, and wanting to get back to action as soon as possible."

[El Pais / S. Hunter / Expatica]