Glasner says Mateta has ‘bad gash behind his ear and a head injury’ after horror challenge against Millwall | OneFootball

Jean-Philippe Mateta was rushed to hospital during Crystal Palace‘s FA Cup game against Millwall following a horror challenge from goalkeeper Liam Roberts.

Roberts went flying into Mateta with a high boot in the eighth minute and was red-carded for how dangerous the challenge was.

Oliver Glasner provided an update after the game: “He’s in hospital. He’s conscious but has a serious ear injury. Let’s see what happens. That is my first information. I hope you can understand that it is tough to talk about the game.

“I couldn’t see it in real-time during the game. I didn’t want to see it after the game, but because we have to talk about it, I watched it. It was very serious foul play.

“It was tough to see it, and I don’t want to see it anymore. The good thing was it didn’t hit his face straight with all the power, as it would have been the end of his career.

“I am pretty sure [Roberts] did not want to injure him in this situation. But, also you just can’t do it in this way. The risk of a serious injury was far too high. The keeper made the wrong decision in the moment.

“Sportsmen don’t want to injure players. I believe in fair play, but the decision to go to the ball with his foot at that height and intensity was the wrong decision.

“I don’t feel happiness [with the result today]; I’m sad and in doubt about how serious JP’s injury is. My fingers are crossed that he can play in the quarter-finals in four weeks.

“When you see your teammate carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, nobody wants to see this. You don’t want to see it happen to anyone, [especially] a teammate or a friend. It made it tough. Credit to the team for remaining focused.”

Palace went on to win the game 3-1 but the result was of secondary importance after the incident that occurred.