Jean-Philippe Mateta injury update: Will he play against Manchester City in the FA Cup final?

Despite suffering a severe ear injury, Jean-Philippe Mateta will be part of Crystal Palace’s team in today’s FA Cup final. The French forward has been practicing with the team all week and will likely start the game at Wembley Stadium wearing his familiar headgear.Mateta was injured in his left ear during Palace’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Millwall on March 1. The striker suffered a 25-stitch injury to his ear after Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts made a high challenge.The accident brought Mateta to the hospital, and a plastic surgeon was able to save his ear. During an interview, Mateta explained how serious the injury was- “I thought I would have broken bones or a brain injury, but it turned out my ear was the only thing damaged. I had an instinct to turn my face at the last second. I was fortunate, or I would have hit him in the head with his foot and things would have been much worse.”He was back on the field a month after the injury, wearing a helmet to protect his hurt ear during the quarter-final against Fulham. He has continued to wear the special helmet in all matches since then and will do so during the final.Since returning from his injury, Mateta has scored only two goals in 10 games. Before the incident, he had scored 17 goals this season under the management of Oliver Glasner.In spite of the injury, Mateta is still an important player for Crystal Palace and will start up front against Manchester City. Midfielder Adam Wharton, who was out with an ankle injury, is now fit and has trained with the team all week.During his pre-match conference, Oliver Glasner said that all his players are fit and can be selected, with Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure still out due to knee injuries.He said, "This is a good update for us. Everyone is fit. Adam has practiced all week and is ready to play and everyone else is healthy. There are some hard decisions to make, but there are also good ones to make.”Also Read: FA Cup final : When and Where to watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in India?The final is a chance for Crystal Palace to claim their first major trophy after 120 years in professional football. Despite his injury, Mateta, who played in the Olympic final last year for France, will try to win the FA Cup.The game at Wembley will start at 4:30 pm BST as Crystal Palace aim to defeat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.