Paraguayan player Salvador Cabañas, who plays with Club America from Mexico, was shot in the head on Monday while at a bar with his wife and his brother-in-law. Sources said that he was shot from close range directly in the head while in the bar’s bathroom.

When he was discovered by a security guard, Cabañas was then rushed to a medical center in Mexico city, where doctors are trying to save the player’s life.

According to doctors, had he not been taken to the hospital immediately, Cabañas would not have survived due to the severity of the injury. He was taken to the operation room as soon as he reached the hospital in an attempt to remove the bullet from his skull; in the end, however, doctors stopped the procedure, since the player’s brain was beginning to swell. The operation took seven hours; Cabañas condition remains critical.

"Cabañas arrived in a critical condition with a severe trauma to the cranium. We managed to put him under control but there was also a skin lesion, a clot inside his head," Dr. Ernesto Martinez said. "We operated on his cranium and stopped the bleeding and the clotting and the brain is in a stable condition.”

Dr. Martinez gave a press conference shortly after the operation. Even though the brain swelling is reduced, the danger is not yet over for Cabañas; only time will tell what the real damage is.

For now, the Paraguayan will remain sedated until he shows improvement. Doctors briefly reduced the level of sedation and Cabañas then was able to react to his wife and mother’s voice; however, the absence of sedatives caused the player’s brain to begin swelling again.

A police investigation located the reason for the attack in a dispute between Cabañas’ brother-in-law and the attacker, Jose J. Balderas Garza, who was recognized in a surveillance video that has been released by authorities. Garza is not reported as being detained.

Doctors still don’t know whether Cabañas will be able to recover fully or even live a relatively normal life. At this point, only time will tell.

Cabañas came from Paraguay to Mexico in 2003. He first joined the Jaguares, where he gave an incredible performance, attracting the attention of club America, one of the most important football clubs in Mexico. He signed with it before the beginning of the 2006 season.

In 2007, Cabañas established himself as the top goal scorer for America, accumulating a total of 33 goals that season with the team. 2008 and 2009 proved similar years; the striker ended up with 23 and 26 goals per year, respectively.

Cabañas is also much loved in his country, playing with his national squad as well, acting as one of the top goal scorers of the team. He was scheduled to participate in the South African World Cup this year, but with the recent events his participation seems impossible. We wish for him and his family a full recovery.

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Audrey Nolan has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the online betting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.