Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez says that the Premier League side were aware of his injury problem, and that didn’t stop them from signing him in the summer.

The Argentina international ended his six-year spell at Aston Villa when he completed a move to Chelsea in August.

Xabi Alonso’s side were able to get the deal over the line because Juventus decided not to secure his services.

His last match for the Villans was the Europa League final win over SC Freiburg in May. During the warmup, the stopper suffered a fractured finger and still played the full 90 minutes against the German club.

Chelsea man’s injury problem 

The 34-year-old refused to undergo surgery in order to represent the national team at the World Cup. He eventually did, and La Albiceleste  lost the final to Spain in July.

Juventus pursued him during the last window before giving up. Last month, Sport Witness covered a report from Argentina explaining that the Old Lady walked away because of his fractured finger.

Fast forward to October, and Emiliano Martínez was the latest guest on Los Edul, hosted by journalist Gastón Edul and his brother, Esteban. He now backs up the aforementioned report, and Olé have relayed his comments.

The South American reveals he’s still in pain, which didn’t bother Chelsea from signing him, and needs to undergo surgery.

“My finger dislocated in the Europa League final: I arrived in Birmingham all happy, we had won, and my finger hurt a lot,” he said.

“I went to the hospital. They told me, ‘No, your finger is half broken’. I said, ‘No, I won’t make it to the World Cup’. That’s when I started crying and thought I was out.”

“I lost a transfer to a club because of my finger. Because all the doctors gave me 10 weeks and said it was impossible for me to play like that, that I needed surgery. But Chelsea didn’t care, and I’m playing. Someday I’ll need the operation, because I’m still playing through the pain.”

Chelsea player on current injury status 

Emiliano Martínez has a clean sheet and conceded 11 goals in six appearances for the Blues. Earlier this month, he started in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton. During the clash, he collided with Toffees defender Jarrad Branthwaite, resulting in a fractured jaw.

Detailing his setback, Martínez explained: “They put in a plate with four screws and fixed three of my teeth.”

“The doctors tightened everything because they didn’t know why my head was loose, they didn’t know if it was the back of my neck, my head, or why my mouth was bleeding so much. They didn’t know what it was. I saw the impact, I didn’t see the photo. But I don’t remember because I fainted.”

Argentina have two friendlies against Uruguay and Costa Rica next month. Two days ago, we relayed news he could make it to November’s interest break. The South American now backs it up, and TyC Sports have relayed his comments.