Arsenal defender Pablo Mari said he is lucky to be alive after he was stabbed while out shopping with his wife and son.
Mari, who is on loan at Italian club Monza, was one of five people attacked at a supermarket near Milan on Thursday and taken to Niguarda Hospital.
The Spaniard suffered a deep cut to his back during the harrowing incident and it is understood he will undergo surgery today.
Reports in Italy claim that one man - said to be an employee of the Carrefour supermarket - has died after the attack.
“Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me,” Mari is quoted by Gazzetta dello Sport as having told Monza president Adriano Galliani and head coach Raffaele Palladino.
The Corriere della Sera says former Napoli and Inter Milan player Massimo Tarantino was among those who immobilised and disarmed the attacker, with the 51-year-old quoted by the paper as saying: “I’m not a hero. I didn’t do anything special.”
Galliani told local media outside the Niguarda Hospital: “He was probably saved from his height.
“Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke, telling me that he will be on the field on Monday. I brought him greetings from President Berlusconi and everyone. His team-mates wanted to come here but obviously it was not possible.”
Speaking to Italian station TG2 RAI, Galliani added: “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.”
