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A Spanish matador is fighting for his life after a bull gored him three times in Madrid's famous Las Ventas bullring on Sunday.
Pablo Belando was floored by the bull and has been left with a broken rib, a pierced lung and injuries to his chest and leg. Once he was downed, the bull charged at him and cut his buttock.
The 26-year-old matador from Murcia in south east Spain has been left in a serious condition in spite of undergoing an hour-long emergency operation.
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The incident happened as Belando faced a second bull - called Carretera, which is Spanish for Road - during Sunday's show, the Daily Mail reported.
After being struck down by the bull, he attempted to walk out of the ring unassisted but his injuries meant he had to be carried by his fellow matadors.
Earlier this month theLADbible reported that a Spanish bullfighter was gored to death on live TV as his friends and family watched on from the crowd.
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Victor Barrio, 29, was killed after an 87-stone bull punctured his lung and severed an aorta during the bullfight in Teruel, Aragon in eastern Spain.
Barrio was the first matador to die since 1985.
Bullfighting remains a controversial sport in Spain, with animal rights protestors claiming the sport should be banned
In July 2010, Catalonia's Parliament banned bullfighting and, in May 2013, the Mexican state of Sonora did the same. The number of bullfights that occur each year are on the decline.
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Words by James Dawson
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