(GSM) – Salvador Cabanas’s condition is improving. The Paraguayan striker is eating and sitting in an armchair, continuing a remarkable recovery after being shot in the head at point-blank range just over a week ago.
However, Cabanas is still in critical condition and still has blood in the brain area that needs to be drained, according to the doctors. Doctors have also said the bullet lodged in Cabanas’ skull will remain there with no further attempt to remove it.
Cabanas, who plays for the Mexican top club America, was shot in the head during an attack in the restroom of a bar in Mexico City on January 25.
“Everything is going well,” said Dr. Ernesto Martinez, who was part of a surgical team that decided against trying to remove the bullet, a procedure they called too risky. “We have to protect him, but he’s speaking and he obeys what we tell him with no problem.”
Martinez said the bullet in Cabanas’ skull would remain there, calling it a small piece of metal that was not harmful. He said many people live normal lives with implanted metal plates or screws.
“The bullet won’t be taken out,” Martinez said. “We could do more damage if we tried to remove it. But where it’s located it doesn’t do a bit of harm. The bullet doesn’t have to come out, not even for legal reasons or anything.”
Juan Carlos Silva, a teammate of Cabanas on America, was shot on Monday night in Mexico City in a failed attempt to steal his vehicle. Silva’s single gunshot to the buttocks was not life-threatening.
21-year-old Silva told reporters on Wednesday that he tried to resist the robbery attempt, which was a mistake.
“God protected me, and thank goodness there wasn’t another shot,” he said. “Now that I think about it, I took a big risk.”
There is no suggestion the two shootings are related.
