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On 23 September 2006, Silva was seriously injured in a car accident in
Montevideo. The accident occurred as he lost control of his pick-up
truck and was thrown from the vehicle, colliding with a street light
post.
In the impact, 33-year old Silva fractured his skull, being rendered
unconscious and suffering a compound fracture on his right leg. At the
time of the accident, he was traveling with two other ex-footballers,
Elbio Papa and Dardo Pereira, who were not seriously injured.
On the day of the accident, a team of five made the decision to amputate
Silva's leg below the knee, and he underwent an operation which lasted
for three and a half hours. He was put into a medically induced coma for
the amputation. After the operation, there were fears that the
amputation would become infected. However, his condition was declared
stable a few days later as he recovered at Montevideo's La Española
hospital, whose staff expected him to make a full recovery.
After difficulty with coming to terms with the accident, Silva left the
hospital on 5 October 2006, and returned to his home in Montevideo with
the plan of receiving a prosthetic leg in Italy to help him walk and run
without the aid of crutches.
Silva took the pitch again on 13 January 2009 after a three-year absence, taking part in a charity match between Uruguay XI and Argentina XI for the “Fundación Niños con Alas” (Winged Children Foundation), again displaying his scoring touch after converting a penalty kick.
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