A Uruguayan goalkeeper has been forced to retire after losing four fingers in a horrific domestic accident.

Juan Obelar, a former player for Uruguayan giants Penarol, was left with only a thumb on his left hand after Monday's sickening events.

'I feel so awful, this is the most horrendous thing that has ever happened to me. It is a very painful moment,' he told local media.

'I was doing a few things for my house, putting wood through a plane and the next thing I know the machine ripped off four fingers.

'I was on my own, I didn’t have help from anyone and the only digit I had left was my thumb.'

Obelar will undergo surgery to reconstruct his hand, although there was no possibility of saving his fingers.

'They have already told me I am not going to recover a single finger, but they will try to rebuild me a bit,' he added.

'It’s painful, but God knows why these things happen.'

Obelar, who was without a club at the time of the accident, had been taking six months off from football before a planned return in January.