‘My ear was destroyed’ – Jean-Philippe Mateta reflects on his horrific injury, which required 25 stitches | OneFootball

In an interview with L’Équipe, Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta (27) reflected on his horrific ear injury, which required 25 stitches and for him to be stretchered from the pitch. The Frenchman suffered the injury following a nasty collision with Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in Round 5 of the FA Cup.

The Olympic silver medalist is still out of action for the Premier League club but is close to a return to training following the injury. It was feared that the injury would be relatively serious due to a lengthy stoppage in the match. Mateta remained conscious but feared that the injury was more severe than the eventual outcome: “I was afraid I’d have broken bones or blood in my brain. But in fact, my ear was just destroyed. A plastic surgeon came and took photos of my ear, which he refused to show me so they wouldn’t stay in my head.”

Palace ended up victorious in the match against their South London rivals, but the moment of the incident was the real talking point within the match. The moment is something the 27-year-old still remembers well: “At the last moment, I had the reflex to turn my face. I was lucky because if I hadn’t, I would have taken his foot right in the head, and it would have been much worse. After that, I never lost consciousness. I was lying on the ground, and I said to the doctor, ‘I’m fine, I want to play again.’ But he, seeing my ear, replied, No, you have to go.”

GFFN | Liam Wraith