David Raya's face was permanently changed after Arsenal goalkeeper's horror injury

David Raya's face was permanently changed after the Arsenal goalkeeper suffered a horror injury while playing for Blackburn Rovers.

Spain goalkeeper Raya has become a Premier League champion this season, and has the opportunity to win the Champions League for the first time when the Gunners take on Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.

He missed out on the Premier League Player of the Season award to Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, but was very much at the forefront of that conversation.

Arsenal's success has been built on solid foundations at the back, with Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba all vital parts of their success along with midfielder Declan Rice.

For Raya, this season has marked the biggest moment in a career which started after he made the significant decision to leave Spain and move to England aged 16.

He signed a scholarship agreement with Blackburn Rovers, who had just been relegated from the Premier League, in 2012.

A four-month stint at National League North side Southport gave Raya experience of senior football, which would prove vital once he was installed as Rovers' first-choice goalkeeper by Tony Mowbray in 2017.

The Spaniard joined Brentford in 2019, spending four years at the club and helping them earn promotion to the Premier League before leaving for Arsenal.

'His bone had been pushed into the skull almost' - David Raya's sickening injury

During his final season at Rovers, Raya had to be stretchered off during his side's 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

David Raya playing for Blackburn before his injury (Image: Getty)

He was involved in a sickening collision with Baggies forward Jay Rodriguez, who accidentally caught Raya's face with the top of his boot.

Rovers boss Mowbray said that the bone at the top of Raya's nose had 'been pushed into the skull almost' and that his team-mates had been unable to look at the injury.

Raya needed oxygen and, as Blackburn had used all of their substitutes at the time, was replaced in goal by midfielder Richard Smallwood.

He was diagnosed with a broken nose after being transported to hospital, as well as what the club described as 'several stitches to a facial wound'.

Raya would only miss two weeks, but had to wear a protective mask over his nose upon his return to action at Ewood Park.

Raya briefly wore a protective face mask following his return from injury (Image: Getty)

Once the season was over, the goalkeeper elected to have nose reconstruction surgery - and admitted that he thought his face was 'fully broken' immediately after the impact.

"I felt like a big crack in my face, so I thought I would need surgery straight away," he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

"I felt like my nose and my head wasn't right. It's not impeding me to breathe or anything.

"It can happen to anyone, it can happen with a header to a centre-back, so that won't change my type of play or anything."