ONTD FOOTBALL

 Salvador Cabañas, 30 year old Paraguayan and former Club America striker, is set to resume training on Thursday afternoon for the first time since he was shot in the head in January of last year. 

The highly-rated striker was set to appear for the Albirroja in the World Cup, having played a massive part in their qualification campaign due to the injury of Roque Santa Cruz--going on to score the most goals in their entire campaign.

On January the 25th 2010, Cabañas was in a bar in Mexico with his wife in the early hours of the morning, when he was shot in the head at point-blank range--presumably during an argument over his footballing ability. The man believed to be responsible, "JJ", has since been apprehended. He was taken to a hospital in Argentina, where he made a remarkable recovery against all the odds. However despite hopes he would recover in time for the World Cup, the bullet could not be removed and doctors believed it was too dangerous for him to partake in the competition. 

For various legal reasons he has been unable to return to his former club, and has instead resumed training with Club Libertad--one of the top sides in Paraguay.

"It's an honour to have him with us. We want to do everything we can to help him in his recovery," Libertad's Uruguayan coach Gregorio Perez said, adding it would also be a motivating factor for his squad.
"We're prepared to have him with us daily... It's important for his recovery to participate," Perez told Primero de Marzo radio.

There were hopes that Cabanas would play during some of the international friendlies after the World Cup, but this never materialised. 

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I feel dreadful for Salvador, ever since the shooting his life seems to have been taking repeated turns for the worse. First there was a charade over his contract/wages, and his doctors bills and taxes went unpaid while he was in hospital. I believe he is now officially a criminal in Mexico because of this, and cannot re-enter the country? There have also been several reports and court cases over his agent allegedly stealing money from him, too, although i'm not certain over how true this is. Either way, the last thing he wants to be involved in while recovering from such a horrific injury is drama over money, its great to hear some positive news!