Jose Gaya suffered what appeared to be an incredibly painful coming together with Hans Hateboer in the early stages of Spain‘s friendly clash with the Netherlands on Wednesday evening.
The 25 year-old left back, who’s spent his entire career with Valencia, contested an aerial challenge only to get accidentally head butted in the face by his opponent, Hateboer.
The Spanish Football Association confirmed that Gaya suffered a cut above his left eye that required stitches, with the defender to be kept under evaluation for the following hours. After the game, however, it was revealed that he was okay and up and about.
🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA | @jose_gaya sufrió una contusión (inciso contusa)en la ceja izquierda que le ha provocado una brecha. La herida ha requerido puntos de sutura. Se valorará evolución en las próximas horas.#SomosEspaña #SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/mcsYby9zpV
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) November 11, 2020
Gaya wasn’t the only injury concern in the first half. After just six minutes Netherlands and Manchester City centre-back Nathan Ake pulled up with what appeared to be muscular discomfort and had to be withdrawn.
The cases of both Ake and Gaya are typical of what club managers have feared this international break particularly, where footballers already under pressure from a compressed club schedule put their bodies under further duress.
Featured image courtesy of We Ain’t Got No History and featured video courtesy of Sky Sports.
