Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was taken to hospital after a wildly reckless challenge from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts just eight minutes into Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash.
Palace chairman Steve Parish confirmed to the BBC at half-time that Mateta had a gash behind his ear and was at a local hospital receiving further treatment as he expressed his anger at the tackle, which saw Roberts sent off.
Roberts rushed outside the 18-yard box and leaped to clear a long ball but his high left-footed follow-through struck Mateta in the side of the face.
Mateta remained on the ground for several minutes and needed lengthy medical treatment before he was fitted with a neck brace and carried off the field toward an ambulance.
“In all the time I’ve been watching football I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse challenge. If you’re kicking someone in the head then you don’t know what damage may have been done,” Parish said.
Referee Michael Oliver initially did not even show Roberts a yellow card despite being only a few yards away from the incident but then brandished a straight red after being called over by VAR to review the incident on a pitchside monitor.
Mateta is Palace’s leading scorer with 12 Premier League goals this season.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.