Pablo Mari to undergo surgery after supermarket stabbing in Milan

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari will undergo surgery on his back on Friday after being stabbed in a deadly supermarket attack in Milan.

The 29-year-old, currently on a season-long loan at Monza, is now recovering in the Niguarda hospital, with local reports claiming one of five victims - said to be an employee of the Carrefour supermarket - has died.

Quoted in the Gazzetta dello Sport, Mari said: "Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me."

The Italian newspaper said that Mari had been walking with his wife and son - who was in a trolley - in the shop in Assago near Milan when he felt a pain in his back before seeing the attacker, later identified as a 46-year-old man and arrested by police, stab another person in the throat. Local reports say any terrorist motive for the attack has been ruled out.

It is reported the Spaniard's injuries are not severe but, after spending the night in hospital, he will undergo surgery on damaged muscles on Friday.

Monza president Adriano Galliani, who visited Mari along with the Serie A side's head coach Raffaele Palladino, told Gazzetta: "Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke and tell me that he will be back in training on Monday. I brought him greetings from (club president Silvio) Berlusconi and everyone else. His team-mates wanted to come here but obviously it was not possible."

Speaking further about the attack, Galliani added: "It is shocking news. My thoughts are with the families - what happened today seems impossible for a city like Milan. It can't be possible that someone gets up in the morning to go to work and then loses their life because of the actions of a criminal."

Mari joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020 and played 19 times