A 20-centimetre cornada ended Álvaro Serrano's solo appearance at Las Ventas. Both sobresalientes entered the programme, raising a rules question that Madrid's administration has not publicly clarified.
The third novillo caught Álvaro Serrano at about 18:30, during a pecho pass at Las Ventas in Madrid.
The animal, from Conde de Mayalde, had already shown direct and dangerous entries during the muleta faena. Its horn struck the inner part of Serrano's right thigh. The wound measured approximately 20 centimetres and ran through an ascending channel, damaging the adductor and biceps femoris muscles. Serrano was taken to the bullring's infirmary and could not continue.
The cornada measured approximately 20 centimetres and affected the adductor and biceps femoris muscles of Serrano's right thigh.
The first reports described a knee injury. The later medical report placed the wound in the right thigh instead. According to Libertad Digital, a team led by Dr Máximo García Padrós operated on Serrano at the infirmary, stabilised him under general anaesthesia and transferred him to La Fraternidad-Muprespa Habana.
The preliminary report recorded a severe contusion of the femoral artery. El Debate described the damage as predominantly muscular and said that no major vessel had been affected. Telemadrid also confirmed the operation and Serrano's inability to continue the fight.
Héctor Roberto completed the lidia and death of the third novillo after Serrano's evacuation. The rest of the programme was then divided between Roberto and Aitor Fernández. Both sobresalientes entered the action.
That outcome does not match the regulation described in the available report. Under that provision, the first sobresaliente should take the four remaining novillos, while the second should stay on standby. Independent reports confirm what happened in the ring. They do not provide a separate official explanation from Madrid's administration or the regulator on whether the arrangement was lawful.
Serrano had been announced as the sole espada for the fifth event of the Feria de Otoño. The programme included animals from Domingo Hernández and Fuente Ymbro. It also named Conde de Mayalde and Luis González Conde, followed by Montealto and Julio de la Puerta.
Preliminary materials had referred to Torrehandilla rather than Luis González Conde. That discrepancy still needs to be checked against the official Las Ventas programme. Once Serrano was injured, the afternoon depended on performers who had been listed as reserves.
Before the Las Ventas challenge, Serrano had recently suffered a heavy fall at a bullfight in Murcia. In an interview, he said he was already considering taking the alternative as the next stage of his career.
Before the accident, Serrano had received an ovation after a request for an ear during his first appearance. His second performance ended in silence. The young bullfighter from Navas del Rey in Madrid will turn 23 in eight days.
The injury also landed in a capital whose news agenda had recently included a housing vigil after Maricarmen Abascal died following her eviction. At Las Ventas, the immediate issue was operational: one cornada changed the programme and pulled the second reserve from standby.
Serrano had taken the risk after a heavy fall at a bullfight in Murcia. In an interview before the Las Ventas challenge, he said he was already considering taking the alternative as the next stage of his career.
The available reports leave a specific institutional question. Both sobresalientes worked in the ring, although the cited regulation gives the second a waiting role. No separate official ruling on that decision has been identified.
