Jean-Philippe Mateta is expected to return to the action on Saturday for the first time since he was hit by a horrible kush kung-fu by Millwall Liam Roberts earlier this month.
The Crystal Palace striker needed oxygen and 26 stitches in his ear after being brutally withdrawn during the fifth round of his club FA Cup with Millwall.
The Frenchman has missed only one match for his club – a 1-0 home victory in the Premier League against Ipswich – due to the international break, but trained and succeeded 60 minutes in a friend.
His manager, Oliver Glasner, insists that he has no concerns about his top scorer in action and revealed that Mateta will carry protective helmets for the quarter -finals of the FA Cup on Saturday in Fulham.
“It’s like a water polo shirt but with an ear,” said Glasner.
“In water polo, it is so that they do not take water in their ears, he just has it on one side. It seems crazy but we are used to it.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is struck in the face by the goalkeeper of Millwall Liam Roberts earlier this month
The Frenchman was hospitalized and required 26 stitches in his ear after the horror challenge
The former Chelsea Petr Cech goalkeeper wore a protective head covering after suffering from a fractured skull
“I told the doctor that I remember that Petr Cech wore this helmet and he said:” Yes, but the ear was free, so we needed full helmet. “Once he wore one as you did to do the motorcycle, but he couldn’t train with that because he was too heavy, so we found the right one.
“He trained with us for two weeks with this protection. It is also important for him to train a little with an internal game in the international break so that he can play for 60 minutes without any problem, so he is ready.
“I could just see him in the Water-Polo. Maybe I told him you should try this because he’s pretty big.
“It looks a little strange but he says he feels comfortable, so let’s see. When he marks a header tomorrow, it was the right mask and good protection.
The former Chelsea Cech goalkeeper wore a protective head covering after having undergone a fractured skull in a collision with Stephen Hunt of Reading in 2006.
Mateta’s teammate, Chris Richards, revealed that the headgear had not protected him to become the target of the cloakrooms for his “bionic ear”.
“He looks like a wrestler,” said the American defender.
“He had a banner, so we said tennis player Francis Tiafoe. So there have been a few cries in recent weeks.
Chris Richards revealed that the locker room compared Mateta to the tennis star Francis Tiafoe
The manager of the palace, Oliver Glasner, insists that he has no concerns about the return of Jean-Philippe Mateta
“In training, it is exactly the same. I think he appreciates the attention a little more now, but he was the same. Have I thought twice to enter a header with him? Not quite. He has this bionic ear now, so I guess we will see how it is tomorrow.
The former defender of Bayern Munich Richards is well poured into protected equipment, having wore a mask for three weeks when he broke his nose in Germany.
“I felt like Batman so it was pretty cool in this direction,” he said.
“But psychologically, I agreed.”
In an interview last week, Mateta opened on his ear damage.
“I was afraid of having broken bones or blood in my brain, but in fact, my ear was just destroyed,” he said.
“At the last moment, I had the reflex to turn my face. I was lucky because if I hadn’t done it, I would have taken the foot in my head, and it would have been much worse.