The Crystal Palace forward had to be quickly taken to the hospital. He got 26 stitches for a “severe laceration” after a really bad collision with Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts. He suffered a serious facial injury when he got kicked in the face. Nine medics came to the field to treat Mateta. He was lying on the grass for eight minutes.
The goalkeeper was sent off in the eighth minute of Millwall’s 3 – 1 loss to the Eagles in the FA Cup.
Mateta talked about his injury to L’Equipe. He said, “I was scared that I had broken bones or blood in my brain. But actually, my ear was just really messed up.
“At the last second, I had the reflex to turn my face. I was lucky. If I hadn’t, I would have taken his foot right in the head, and it would have been a lot worse.
“A plastic surgery expert came and took pictures of my ear. He wouldn’t show them to me so that the images wouldn’t stay in my mind. Obviously, my ear didn’t look like an ear anymore.
“At the start of the operation, the surgeon had a lot of problems. But later, as he told me, he found a way to save my ear. He did an amazing job.”
You Might Be Interested In:
