An American man is recovering in the intensive-care unit of a Spanish hospital after a bull gave him the 'biggest goring wound' the doctor who performed emergency surgery on him had ever seen.

Benjamin Miller of Georgia underwent a three-hour operation to repair damage to his thighs, sphincter and back muscles after being tossed and gored by a bull.

The 20-year-old is at a hospital in western Salamanca after being hurt at Ciudad Rodrigo's Carnaval del Toro bullfighting festival yesterday.

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American Benjamin Miller, 20, (above) was hurt at the Carnaval del Toro festival in Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain

The young man was injured yesterday on the first day of the festival and had to have emergency surgery

Miller of Georgia underwent a three-hour operation to repair damage to his thighs, sphincter and back muscles

Miller was helped by other revelers after being tossed and gored by a bull during the Carnaval del Toro

Miller had one wound that measured 40 centimeters, according to PULSO.

The bull gored him through the thigh of the left leg.

A picture advertising the annual bullfighting festival

His sphincter was also quite damaged and suffered numerous hemorrhages .

He reportedly came to Carnaval del Toro with a group of American students.

Surgeon Enrique Crespo was called to operate on Miller after he was injured on the first day of the annual festival.

Crespo said: 'It's not the worst injury I've seen, but it's the biggest goring wound I've ever had to operate on.'

Two other unidentified men were hurt during Saturday's festivities.

Town councilor Pedro Munoz said: 'One man from Scotland and a Spaniard from Salamanca were also injured.'

The injured Scot is 46 and the wounded Spaniard is 31.

Munoz added: 'Doctor Crespo is a world-renowned expert and we have a medically-equipped helicopter on standby every day of our annual fiesta.'

Fiestas featuring bulls are common in Spain, and critics and aficionados alike agree that the events, which attract international audiences, are dangerous.

Surgeon Enrique Crespo was called to operate on Miller. The 'world-renowned expert' was waiting on standby

The youth is recovering from his injuries in the intensive-care unit of a hospital in western Salamanca

Men riding horses next to a bull earlier today. The festival went on as planned despite Miller's injury yesterday

Munoz said somewhere between 45,000 and 50,000 people had been attracted over the weekend to this year's four-day fiesta, that includes afternoon bullfights and bull-running events.

Ciudad Rodrigo — population 14,000 — is a small cathedral city close to the Portuguese border that is a popular tourist destination.

It retains its ancient defensive walls and was the site of key battles between Napoleon's army and British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington from 1810 to 1812.

Dr Crespo said Miller had the 'biggest goring wound' he'd ever seen. He was rammed through his left thigh

In addition to Miller, 20, two other people were hurt yesterday including a 41-year-old man from Scotland

Ciudad Rodrigo is a small cathedral city close to the Portuguese border that is a popular tourist destination