Aston Villa heroic Emiliano Martinez plays through broken finger in Europa win

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez played through injury in his side’s Europa League final win over Freiburg after revealing he broke a finger during the warm-up in Istanbul.

The incident happened just moments before kick-off on Wednesday, when the Argentina international required treatment from the club’s medical staff.

Despite the setback, Martínez was declared fit to start and completed the full match as Villa secured a 3-0 victory to claim their first European trophy in 44 years.

The 33-year-old was not heavily tested throughout the final, as Aston Villa controlled the game with goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealing a memorable win and ending a long wait for major silverware.

Even so, Martinez still contributed when called upon, producing two saves to help maintain a clean sheet.

After the match, he confirmed the injury and spoke about playing through the pain.

“Today I broke my finger during the warm-up and for me, every bad thing brings something good. I’ve done this my whole life and I’ll keep doing it,” he said.

“Should I be worried? Well, I’ve never had a broken finger before. Every time I caught the ball, it went the other way. But these are things you have to go through, and I’m proud to defend Aston Villa.”

Despite the injury, Martinez took part fully in the celebrations, joining jubilant Villa supporters and lifting manager Unai Emery during emotional scenes in Istanbul.

Martinez has now won every major final he has featured in during his career, adding the Europa League to his FA Cup, World Cup and Copa America successes.