Bullfighting deaths in Spain as iconic matador can't eat or sleep after brutal rectal goring

An icon of Spanish bullfighting issued a message to his fans from a hospital bed after he was brutally gored in the rectum.

Morante de la Puebla, known as the 'King of Bullfighters', fell in agony to the floor at the Maestranza bullring in Seville on Monday.

The 46-year-old had passed three bulls when a 512kg animal named Clandestino suddenly charged at full pelt.

Clandestino's horn gored into the back of de la Puebla and left him with a 10cm wound to the posterior anal margin.

"I was in immense pain, felt a lot of fear because I saw the bull had grabbed me and, well, I thought I was bleeding," he said in a video to fans from hospital.

"By the time I got to the infirmary and saw that the bleeding was minimal, I relaxed quite a bit, but of course, it hurt a lot.

Calling it 'the most painful goring ever', he added: "I’ve gone through a pretty normal night of little sleep.

"I’ve got no appetite, and I’m hoping to get through it with, well, with a bit of patience."

Spanish matador Morante de la Puebla was badly injured during a bullfighting event in Seville (Instagram/@elmundo_es)

De la Puebla is lucky to be alive following two high-profile bullfighter deaths in Spain this year.

Retired matador Ricardo Ortiz, 51, was killed by a bull gore in Málaga, while preparing for a bullfight at the La Malagueta arena.

“We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much loved and respected person in the bullfighting world,” the company statement said.

Ricardo Ortiz was unloading bulls at the La Malagueta arena when 'one of the bulls gored him forcefully causing his death' (Wikimedia Commons)

Also in February, 71-year-old man Eustaquio Martín died after being gored by a bull during the Carnaval del Toro festival in Ciudad Rodrigo.

A doctor said the man's bleeding was 'uncontrollable and catastrophic', after the incident took place at around 1am local time when the animal charged him and piercing the upper part of his ribcage.

Martín died just minutes after being taken to a medical clinic.

Dr Enrique Crespo told La Gaceta: "He entered the infirmary in agony and died less than a minute later.

"The wound, in the center of his chest, left his heart partially destroyed and half a lung damaged."

As of 2014, 533 professional bullfighters have died in the ring since 1700.

De la Puebla is recovering in hospital (Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images)

Spanish bullfighting rules

Spanish bullfighting is where a matador fights a bull in an arena with assistants.

The fight has three stages:

• picadors weaken the bull with lances
• banderilleros place barbed sticks
• the matador performs cape passes before attempting the final sword kill

A presiding judge oversees the event and may award trophies such as the bull’s ears for a skilled performance.