Salvador Cabanas will miss the World Cup finals as he continues his recovery from being shot in the head, but the charismatic striker will still be a driving force for the team.
Paraguay's Salvador Cabanas will miss the World Cup finals as he continues his recovery from being shot in the head, but the striker will still be a driving force for the team.
A compact and powerful forward, the 29-year-old was a pillar for Mexican club America and led Paraguay through a strong qualifying series to a World Cup berth.
But his life took a dramatic turn when he was shot in the head at a Mexico City nightclub in the early hours of January 25.
Sporting a long scar across the side of his head, Cabanas now trains alone at a rehabilitation centre north of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
As Cabanas runs through his daily exercises in Argentina, back home in Paraguay he has become a symbol of strength and inspiration for the national team, who face holders Italy, New Zealand, and Slovakia in Group F at the finals in South Africa.
"Everyone knows Salvador, not just us. The work he has done over time is valued everywhere," defender Julio Caceres said.
"Unfortunately, he's not going to play in the World Cup, but he's going to be with us and that's going to be fundamental for us to be in high spirits.
"The efforts we make, our wins, every step we take will logically be for him."
His doctor, Lisandro Olmos, said the Paraguayan beat the odds to survive the shooting and continues to surprise people as he recovers.
"This kind of injury statistically results in almost instant death in 80% of the cases," Olmos told Reuters.
"But in the 20% that survive and get emergency treatment and later gain access to rehabilitation, only 3% have an acceptable level of recovery."
Olmos said Cabanas is in condition to travel to South Africa and watch the games from the sidelines but will most likely stay in Argentina and continue his rehabilitation.
The doctor explained that damage from the bullet forced doctors to remove part of his skull to relieve pressure from brain swelling. The skull bone was replaced, but doctors were forced to leave the bullet.
Less than four months after the shooting, the tenacious Cabanas is already playing football at the clinic. He has made giant strides, but his motor skills still need work.
"He has really shown significant advances. For example, he now has the capability to pass the ball to the left and to the right, something that didn't happen at first," Olmos said.
Shortly after the shooting, fans filled soccer stadiums in Asuncion and Itagua, Cabanas's hometown, to show their support for the charismatic striker.
An advertisement, filmed last year, has taken on special symbolic value in Paraguay. It shows Cabanas first as a field commander, riding a horse and encouraging his teammates, then manning the wheel of a ship in the middle of a storm.
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