Which fingers were damaged? I always assumed that he used open tunings and barred a lot, I now take it that this is not the case.

I remember my father playing Django for me when I was a teenager, but I was too into rock back then to be all that impressed. As my musical tastes grew I read that two of my favourite guitarists, Willie Nelson and Jeff Beck were heavily influenced by Django (I'm not making this up) so I went out and got the CD I referred to above and was floored by his playing. And believe it or not I hear Django in Willie's playing.