PAIN: Enrique Ponce was gored in his buttocks by a bull

THIS is the shocking moment a Spanish matador was tossed in the air by a bull and gored as he scrambled on the floor.

Enrique Ponce, 47, sustained a five-inch wound to his buttocks, and knee ligament damage when he hit the ground.

The veteran bullfighter was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on Monday following the incident in Valencia at the annual Fallas festival.

INJURED: Ponce was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after the incident

The 532-kilo bull that attacked the dad-of-two, was named Declamador.

Ponce was also gored by a bull in the same festival back in 2014.

UNESCO recognised the festival, which involves bullfighting, as a cultural heritage of humanity in 2016.

Bullfighting is frequently the subject of criticism from animal rights campaigners and social media users were not sympathetic to Ponce.

One wrote ‘Another happy end!’, while another said, ‘Today, a poor bull who never chose to be there, managed to close the criminal beast Enrique Ponce’.

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