New Delhi: Chelsea and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez provided a crucial update on his injury after suffering a nasty head collision during his side’s clash against Everton.
Martinez revealed he had to undergo surgery and will be out of action for a few weeks.
Martinez collided with Everton defender Jarrad Brathwaite during the second half of the clash between Chelsea and Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday. Chelsea won the game 2-0 to take all three points despite missing Martinez in the second half.
“Thanks to everyone for the messages, the operation went well. The most important thing is that we won and with a clean sheet. I’ll be back in a few weeks,” said Martinez in a post on his Instagram account along with a picture of himself at a hospital.
The collision between Martinez and Brathwaite took place after Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall whipped a free kick into the box. Trying to grab the ball, Martinez and Brathwaite came together. Though the Argentina keeper got up after requiring medical attention, he was later stretchered off the field and taken to a hospital.
Xabi Alonso on Emi Martinez’s injury
Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso said Martinez had suffered a concussion, but refused to delve into the details after the game. “It was a concussion, but beyond that I don’t know. I have only seen one clip of the incident, so we need to wait,” Alonso said after the game.
“What we know is that he left the stadium conscious and right now he is in hospital doing precautionary tests. We need to wait. Hopefully it won’t be too bad but we need to wait,” he added.
Alonso replaced Martinez with 21-year-old Mike Pendres after the veteran keeper’s injury. Pendres helped Chelsea finish with a clean sheet, which was their first in the Premier League since January this year.
As per a report in Spanish publication Marca, Martinez is expected to remain out of action for at least 40 days after undergoing surgery on his jaw. In his absence, Chelsea are expected to rely on Pendres to start between the sticks. The Blues are currently 4th on the Premier League table with 13 points after 7 matches so far this season.