A US student has been hospitalised after being gored and tossed by a bull during the Carnaval del Toro in Spain.

20-year-old Benjamin Miller, of Georgia, is recovering in the intensive care unit of a hospital in western Salamanca after receiving horrific injuries from a large fighting bull on 14 February, officials said.

A man runs in front of a bull during the 'Carnaval del Toro' in Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain (Jose Vicente/AP)

Mr Miller was gored multiple times and received wounds to his thigh, sphincter and back during the running of the bulls in Ciudad Rodrigo.

Mr Miller, pictured, was gored multiple times (Jose Vicente/AP)

(Jose Vicente/AP)

(Jose Vicente/AP)

A man is gored by two bulls during an 'encierro' (running of the bulls) on the occasion of the 'Carnaval del Toro' in Ciudad Rodrigo town, Salamanca province, Spain (EPA/CARLOS GARCIA)

Surgeon Enrique Crespo said he was called to operate on Mr Miller’s injuries, which included a wound measuring 40 centimetres and was the "the biggest goring wound" he had ever seen, according to a report on Cuatro TV.

Two other men, reported to be a Scot and a Spaniard, were also injured during the encierro although their wounds were described by authorities as minor.

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

Earlier this year Morrissey came under fire for calling a bullfighter who was gored in Mexico City a "serial killer", and claiming that he had been "delighted" to hear of the incident.

In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2015 In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A runner falls in front of Tajo y la Reina fighting bulls at the entrance to the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners fall in front of Tajo y la Reina fighting bulls at the entrance to the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners, or mozos, are chased by bulls from El Tajo y la Reina ranch during the second bull run of the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain An El Tajo y La Reina ranch fighting bull falls to the ground as it takes the Mercaderes curve during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A wild cow leaps over revellers into the bull ring after the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A runner is gored by a bull, from El Tajo y la Reina ranch, at bullring at the end of the second bullrun of Sanfermines in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Revellers run with the Tajo and the Reina's fighting bulls entering Estafeta street during the third day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain A Del Tajo la Reina's bull falls during the second "encierro" (bull-run) of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Revellers run with the Tajo and the Reina's fighting bulls entering Estafeta street during the third day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona In pictures: Bull running in Pamplona Spain Runners enter the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2015

Last year Spanish MPs voted to grant bullfighting special cultural heritage status, a move which was condemned by international animal rights organisations. In 2011 the government recognised the event as "an artistic discipline and cultural product".

This was despite the fact that a 2013 Ipsos Mori poll showed that most Spaniards do not approve of public funds being used for bullfighting, that 75 per cent have not attended a bullfight in the past five years, and only 29 per cent were in favour of it.