Santi Cazorla: I almost had my foot amputated due to gangrene

The Arsenal midfielder has had eight operations to fix an Achilles problem in his right foot – resulting in the Spaniard losing eight centimetres from his tendon – as he faced the prospect of never walking again. He has not played since the start of last season.

He picked up an infection during one of those surgeries which, had it not been treated, could have seen him lose the foot.

"The problem was that it did not heal and the wounds would reopen, become infected," he relived to Spanish newspaper Marca.

"If you get to walk again with your son in the garden, be satisfied, doctors said to me."

Cazorla required a skin graft from his tattooed arm to replace skin around his tendon – creating the peculiar image of an inky segment plastered on his heel.

Incredibly, he is hoping to return to action in the New Year and is continuing his rehabilitation at the clinic of Spain physio Juan Carlos Herraez in the small city of Salamanca, two hours west of Madrid.

"I do not have clearance until January, but I will come back by then," said Cazorla, who added that he regularly gets encouragement from several of his Spain team-mates.

"Almost every day I receive a message from Iniesta, Silva and Villa. Everything that I have gone through has not been as simple an injury as people have believed. Nobody trusted me but I do, I still do, although the pain keeps me cautious."