Hand surgery expert Dr Richard Moore has declared that Johnny Depp's finger injury is "not consistent" with the actor's claims that it was sliced by a bottle thrown at him by Amber Heard.
The statement comes as the Depp v Heard trial resumed on Monday, with the orthopaedic surgeon Moore the first witness to testify. For her part, Heard insists that Depp smashed his own finger with a phone.
Moore, who claims to have operated on similar injuries "hundreds of times", maintained that Depp's side of the story was "not consistent with what we see in the described injury pattern or clinical photographs."
Depp shook his head when he heard Moore's assertion.
Continuing, the surgeon expressed concern that there were no injuries to the dorsum of the finger - the back of the hand.
"In that position, were the bottle to strike the finger, it would have struck on the nail and the nail was really not injured. That's not consistent with that pattern of injury," he explained.
The doctor went on to note that Depp's medical files "did not document the presence of any glass shards and no other associated injuries on the hand", ruling that the wound "doesn't appear to be a sharp glass laceration."
Following his testimony, Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez proceeded to question Moore, pressuring him to admit that he was not able to determine which object caused the injury to the actor's finger.
"I can't determine the exact object but it's unlikely it was sustained in the manner described," the surgeon clarified.
Vasquez then proceeded to show the jury photos of the bar area in the property that Depp and Heard rented in 2015 where the fight reportedly took place. The images showed a broken vodka bottle and a bloodied tissue with red drops around it. Moore later admitted he did not consider the pictures when drawing his conclusions.
For her part, Heard has insisted that Depp smashed his own finger with a phone.
The blockbuster trial entered its sixth and final week on Monday in Fairfax, Virginia. Depp is suing his ex-wife for defaming him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard portrayed herself as a victim of domestic abuse. Even though she never named Depp directly, he claims the op-ed ruined his acting career and is demanding $50 million in compensation, with Heard's team countersuing and requesting twice as much.