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Xabi Alonso 'sliced his knee open' before the 2010 World Cup semi-final and had a panic attack before alerting the doctor about his bloody wound.
Just 'ten minutes' before meeting up with the Spain national team to leave for their semi-final clash against Germany, Alonso 'severed his knee from side to side' in a shower mishap.
He cut his knee from a shard of glass after the shower door came loose from its hinge.
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Alonso's bathroom looked like a 'scene from Psycho', according to the national team doctor Dr. Juan Jose Garcia Cota.
The Spanish midfielder had a panic attack that stopped him from bursting into tears.
He told Diario AS: "Blood always shocks, but in this case, what shocked me was seeing my knee with a cut from side to side from which the fat attached to the skin and the muscle tissue exposed.
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"The only pain was internal. Goodbye to the semifinal and the World Cup final. I couldn't believe it. The panic attack and anguish that I suffered surely prevented me from bursting into tears."
Dr Cota said: "When I enter the room, I find Xabi pale and shaken, almost in shock.
"He had covered his knee with a towel to open the door for me. He was drenched in blood, the bathroom looked like the shower scene from Psycho. It was totally a crime scene.
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"He only managed to tell me imploringly: 'Doctor, for God's sake, do what you want but I have to play.'
"I still retain his words in my head."
Dr. Cota had a fight between his head and heart over whether or not he should allow Alonso to play.
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"My head told me that it was impossible for Xabi to play and that he had to inform the coach. It was a fight between the head and the heart," he added.
"I had many doubts about whether to tell Vicente [Del Bosque] what had happened and I still have them. I don't know if I did the right thing, but I went with the wounded one.
"Let's say that Xabi's gaze won out over reason."
Alonso ended up playing with a bandage wrapped around his knee as Vicente del Bosque and his teammates had no idea about his accident.
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He featured in both the semi-final and final against Germany and Netherlands, respectively, as Spain won the World Cup.
Topics: Football
Nasir Jabbar