Jean-Philippe Mateta wears water polo-style helmet as he starts for Crystal Palace three weeks after horror head injury

JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA is wearing a water polo-style helmet on his return from a horror head injury.

The striker was taken to hospital after being on the receiving end of a sickening tackle in the last round of the FA Cup against Millwall.

Crystal Palace won the clash 2-1 to set up a clash with Fulham, but Mateta has not played since.

He required 25 stitches in his ear and was spotted wearing a big bandage in a recent interview.

Now on his return to action Mateta is wearing a water polo-style helmet to protect his ear.

There was serious planning to put into the helmet's design, with three versions considered.

Mateta, 27, wore the helmet in a behind-closed-doors friendly, with Eagles boss Oliver Glasner joking afterwards that the helmet was better suited to water polo.

He said: “It’s like a water polo helmet. In water polo it’s so they don’t get water into their ears, he has it just on one side. It sounds crazy, but we are used to it.

“I said to him maybe you should try [water polo] because he’s tall enough.

“It looks a bit strange but he says he feels comfortable so let’s see.

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS

“When he scores a header, then it was the right mask and the right protection.

“Our doctor and the team did a great job finding the right protection. Everything is approved by the FA.

“There were three different ones. He tried one like you use to ride a motorbike but he couldn’t train with this because it was too heavy.

“I said to the doctor I remember Petr Cech wearing a helmet but the ear was free so we needed the full helmet. Then we found the right one.

“He tried in training which one fits him best and doesn’t influence him in the wrong way.

“If I believed it was a problem, I wouldn’t play him but it looks like it isn’t a problem.

“The last 10 days he's had this protection and he did well in training so I didn't find a reason to talk about this.”;