Spanish midfielder, Carles Perez, has been hospitalised in Greece after suffering a dog bite to his genitals, according to Metro.
The incident reportedly occurred in Thermi, a suburb located on the southern edge of Thessaloniki, during a Tuesday morning walk with his dog.
Trouble began when another dog attacked Perez’s pet. In his attempt to break up the scuffle, the 27-year-old sustained a bite to his groin area.
Following the injury, Perez was admitted to a private medical facility in Panorama, another Thessaloniki suburb, where doctors treated a deep laceration that required six stitches.
Greek club Aris, where Perez currently plays, confirmed on Wednesday that the player developed a “soft tissue infection” from the bite. As a result, he has been ruled out of the club’s UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying match against Azerbaijan’s Araz-Nakhchivan on Thursday.
Aris manager, Marinos Ouzounidis, addressing the media on Wednesday, expressed disappointment at the timing of the incident.
“Carles would have been in the starting line-up,” Ouzounidis said at a press conference.
“This incident happened but we can’t dwell on it any longer. My mind is working on alternative solutions and we have worked on them.
“That’s why I insist that it’s important to have players with personality. So I’m interested in the group of players that I will have at my disposal, to give the most they can.”
Perez began his professional journey with Barcelona, making his senior debut in 2015 for the B team after joining the youth setup from RCD Espanyol in 2012.
He earned promotion to Barcelona B in 2017 and made his professional debut in August that year.
His first goals came in January 2018, when he netted a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over CD Tenerife. After Barcelona B’s relegation that season, he renewed his contract by two more years.
Perez broke into Barcelona’s first team in May 2019, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw against SD Eibar. His first La Liga goal came in August of that year in a 5–2 win over Real Betis.
He also scored in the UEFA Champions League, netting the opener in a 2–1 victory away at Inter Milan.
During his time at Barcelona, Perez was part of the squad that lifted the 2018/19 La Liga trophy. He later joined Roma, where he was included in the team that triumphed in the UEFA Europa Conference League final under Jose Mourinho, though he remained an unused substitute in the 1–0 win over Feyenoord.
The versatile forward, who has also played for Celta Vigo and Getafe, signed a season-long loan deal with Aris from Celta earlier this month.