A goring ended Álvaro Serrano’s solo appearance at Las Ventas after the third novillo. Doctors found deep thigh damage and a bruised but intact femoral artery.
The third novillo turned on Álvaro Serrano during a muleta sequence at Las Ventas, leaving the 22-year-old unable to stand. He was carried to the bullring infirmary as the serious cornada brought his solo appearance to an abrupt end.
The wound reached 20 centimetres into the inner side of the lower third of his right thigh. It damaged the adductor and hamstring muscle groups. Doctors also found a contusion to the femoral artery, although the vessel was not severed. The Las Ventas medical report classified the injury as serious and incompatible with continuing the performance.
Emergency surgery followed inside the bullring under general anaesthesia. Once stabilised, Serrano was transferred to Hospital Fraternidad Muprespa–Habana for further tests and monitoring. The immediate task was to measure the damage caused by the wound’s ascending trajectory into the adductor and hamstring muscles.
Serrano, 22, is from Navas del Rey and was making his first appearance at Las Ventas in an encerrona, a solo challenge against six novillos.
The incident came during the third bull of the afternoon from the Conde de Mayalde herd. Serrano had started a muleta sequence against an animal that had taken little punishment in the ring and was showing danger. On the second series, the novillo turned into him and struck him. Serrano could not get back on his feet.
Reports differ on the precise point of initial contact. Some place it around the right knee, while the confirmed medical injury was in the right thigh.
Serrano had appeared alone at Las Ventas during the Feria de Otoño on October 10, 2026. Facing six novillos in the Madrid arena was meant to mark another step in his rise, but the goring removed him before he could complete the challenge. The cuadrillas carried him to the bullring infirmary, where doctors operated. Before the event, supporters from Navas del Rey organised buses to Madrid, while Telemadrid and TLMAD planned coverage.
After Serrano was evacuated, the programme continued with the substitute matadors Aitor Fernández and Héctor Roberto. The six-novillo lineup also included animals from Domingo Hernández, Fuente Ymbro, Luis González Conde, Montealto and Julio de la Puerta, making this the fifth event of the 2026 Feria de Otoño.
Máximo García Padrós, chief surgeon at Las Ventas, described the injury to Mundotoro as serious. He said the ascending trajectory destroyed tissue in the adductors and hamstrings. The femoral artery was bruised but remained intact.
García Padrós said Serrano arrived in considerable pain and was shouting in the infirmary. The estimated recovery period is about 20 days, although no later independent report available here confirms how his condition subsequently developed.
The transfer to Hospital Fraternidad Muprespa–Habana followed the treatment already carried out at the plaza. Doctors there were expected to conduct additional examinations and monitor Serrano after the initial intervention. An earlier report examined the consequences of the same interruption for the Las Ventas programme.
The medical report records 20 centimetres of ascending penetration, damage to the adductors and hamstrings, and a femoral artery contusion without rupture. The femoral artery remained intact.
