How did Miguel de Cervantes lose the use of his left hand?

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Engraving of Miguel de Cervantes, shown with a mustache and beard, wearing a ruffled collar and cloak, based on works by Gregorio Ferro and Fernando Selma. — Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes, engraving by E. Mackenzie after Gregorio Ferro and Fernando Selma; from *The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography* (1863).

Miguel de Cervantes lost the use of his left hand during the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Despite suffering from a fever, Cervantes insisted on participating in the intense naval conflict against the Ottoman Empire. During the fighting, he sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and a third injury that permanently rendered his left hand useless.1