Time to call it quits? Hapless career of 'world's worst bullfighter' who has been gored in the backside, crushed against a wall, trampled, lanced in the leg and tossed around like a rag doll

Andres Roca Rey may have thought his time was up when he was savagely tossed around by a bull last week. Just minutes after walking into the bullring in Arles, southern France, the matador was violently lifted off his feet as the beast's horns hoisted him up and carried him around. As he clung on for dear life, horrified spectators thought it would take a miracle for the Peruvian matador to survive. Roca Rey was then rammed by the bull and thrown to the ground, where he lay motionless and bloodied. As people rushed to help the bullfighter, he somehow got back on his feet and returned to face the beast. The incident involving the 'Messi of matadors' last week is the latest goring the 29-year-old has endured. Throughout his decade-long career, the matador has been gored in the backside, trampled, lanced and tossed around more times than he can count. Although he is considered one of the industry's biggest stars, his many accidents have earned him the unfortunate nickname of the 'world's worst matador' among some observers. Video captured the black bull ramming Andres Roca Rey from behind before catapulting him on to its head, where the matador remained lodged behind his left horn The Peruvian matador is tossed by a Jandilla's fighting bull during the fifth bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 11, 2017 A bull lifts Roca Rey into the air during another brutal goring at the Maestranza bullring, in Sevilla on April 9, 2016 Last week's incident unfolded months after Roca Rey was gored in Seville, Spain. The bullfighter was left with a deep gash in his leg after being impaled and lifted into the air in April (pictured) In 2021, he told The Critic magazine that he would not stop taking risks in the ring, and compared his relationship with bullfighting to a romantic one. 'If you commit yourself 100 per cent to another person, you can get more out of the relationship, but you can also get more badly hurt. It's the same in the arena,' he said.But as he continues to sustain horrific injuries from his encounters with bulls, fans have questioned whether he should continue his career in bullfighting. Just a few months ago, Roca Rey was left in a 'very serious' condition after being gored during a bullfight in the Spanish city of Seville. Roca Rey was left with a deep gash in his leg after he was impaled and lifted into the air. Footage showed how he was hit through the right thigh with the bull's horns as the animal charged at him. The matador was tossed around on the bull's horns several times before the animal stepped on him. Bullfighting assistants, known in Spanish as 'cuadrillas', stepped in to draw the raging animal away. Roca Rey was eventually carried to safety, but was left with a 35cm-long wound on his leg.The goring also caused serious damage to key muscles in Roca Rey's right thigh, though no major blood vessels were hit. And in October 2024, Roca Rey was tossed around like a rag doll while attached to a bull's horns at Madrid's Las Ventas bullring. Video captured the horrific moment Roca Rey was impaled through the backside by one of the bull's huge horns before being tossed into the air. He then flipped over into a somersault before hitting the sand. Roca Rey curled into a ball as the crazed animal continued to launch its attack, spearing the matador's uniform and shaking him violently. The Peruvian matador has had several uncomfortably close encounters with the horned beasts, including in October 2024 when he was tossed like a rag doll while attached to the bull's horns The matador was impaled by one of the beast's huge horns in 2024 Roca Rey is shown being flipped over into a somersault before he comes crashing down to the ground Bystanders rushed in to assist Roca Rey and distract the animal as he lay in a crumpled heap on the groundBystanders once again rushed in to assist Roca Rey as he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. He sustained an injury to his gluteus and had to undergo surgery. In a separate incident in 2023, Roca Rey suffered a harrowing double goring during a bullfight in Santander, northern Spain. While performing at the Santiago Fair on July 25, a 467kg bull dragged him violently against the ring's wooden barriers, leading the matador to sustain injuries to his face, neck, thigh and knee.A video captured how the bull charged at Roca Rey, dragging him back into the barriers before throwing him into the air. Roca Rey was left slumped against the wall as helpers rushed to distract the bull and pull the matador to safety. And in 2016, he had a spate of separate bullfighting-related accidents, garnering him media attention. In April of that year, the matador was gored in the upper thigh when he took the ring at La Maestranza in Seville. This video grab captures the moment the bull made contact with the matador at the Feria de Santiago in 2023A cape is left on the floor as the bull rams Roca Rey into the barriers in Santiago, Spain Roca Rey is gored by a Fuente Ymbro bull during the first corrida of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 7, 2016 Roca Rey lies on the floor after a bull rams into him in a Pamplona bullfight in 2016 Roca Rey is flung into the air after being gored by a bull at La Chopera bullring in Palencia in September 2016 Roca Rey lies motionless on the ground in a Palencia bullring in September 2016 Roca Rey is gored by a bull during a bullfight at the Maestranza bullring in Sevilla on April 9, 2016And during the famous San Fermin festival in July that year, Roca Rey was gored in the leg by an angry bull. Just weeks after, he was knocked unconscious at an event in Malaga after being struck in the head.A fortnight later, Roca Rey attempted to make his return to the ring in Palencia when he was caught, flipped and violently thrown to the ground by a bull, causing him to lose consciousness upon impact. Footage showed Roca Rey lying completely motionless on the sand before his team carried him away. Early in his career, the bullfighter also endured various run-ins with bulls, and in one instance had two of his teeth knocked out after taking a horn blow directly to the mouth. Roca Rey is considered one of bullfighting's biggest stars and has filled rings all over the world. Born in Peru to a bullfighting family, he moved from South America to Spain in childhood to focus on his career as a matador. Once a popular part of mainstream Spanish culture, matadors were held in the same regard as Hollywood actors. But in recent years, the popularity of bullfighting has declined in Spain.