After making a name for himself in his country and in Italy with Cagliari, he spent the following seven years of his career in Spain – scoring 48 La Liga goals in 163 games, mostly for Málaga – before moving to England.
Born in Treinta y Tres in the namesake department, Silva began his career in 1991 with Defensor Sporting (having been a Boca Juniors player for six hours previous to that),[3] signing shortly after with Montevideo and Primera División powerhouse Peñarol; In 1995, aged 22, he switched to Italy and signed with Cagliari Calcio, where he was nicknamed Sa pibinca (Sardinian for nuisance) due to his frenzied attacking style.
With the Andalusians he formed an efficient attacking partnership with Julio Dely Valdés, also helping to the conquest of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup and consecutive mid-table La Liga finishes;[5] during his tenure with the club, the temperamental player was also sent off six times.
[12] Silva made his debut for Uruguay on 19 October 1994, in a friendly match against Peru in the Estadio Nacional José Díaz in Lima (1–0 win).
[21] 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.
After difficulty with coming to terms with the amputation, 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.
"[24] However, Silva also said that he was grateful to god that the accident happened at the end of his playing career, rather than at the beginning of it, claiming that he was crying "tears of gratitude" at the hospital.