Jean-Philippe Mateta has been compared to a wrestler and a superhero after taking to the pitch against wearing an ear protector. The striker was back in action on Saturday for the first time in with Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts on March 1.

Mateta was kicked in the head by Roberts when he went for the ball in their clash and had 26 stitches to what was described as a ‘severe laceration’. He needed plastic surgery on his left ear, but was passed fit to start for Palace in their FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham at Craven Cottage in Saturday’s early kick-off.

He played 70 minutes but had little involvement in Palace's stunning 3-0 win, with Eberechi Eze opening the scoring with a curling strike before crossing for Ismaila Sarr to head in the second. Eddie Nketiah replaced Mateta and added a third to put Palace in the semi-finals.

In order to be allowed on the pitch, the Frenchman was forced to don a unique-looking head band with a protector over his ear. While masks for players with broken noses or cheekbones have become commonplace in recent years, Mateta’s ear injury is much rarer – and received mixed reviews on social media.

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“What is Mateta wearing? Looks like he is playing Call of Duty. These players are too pampered nowadays,” one fan wrote on X. “JP Mateta out here looking like Cyborg from Justice League,” another added.

Many compared him to a wrestler, with one fan writing: “JP trying out for the 1984 Penn State college wrestling team.” Another added: “Loving the Rick Steiner inspired headgear that Mateta has on!” Another viewer of the game on had more practical concerns. “Looking at Mateta's ear protection, I do hope he can hear okay through that ear!” they wrote.

The jokes are nothing new for Mateta, who has been hearing them – through both ears – on the training pitch. “He’s got that bionic ear now,” Palace defender Chris Richards joked to the . He explained that the team have been comparing Mateta to a wrestler or to the headband-wearing tennis player Francis Tiafoe.

Mateta is unlikely to care. He’s just happy to be back playing football following a lengthy lay-off. “He feels comfortable,” Palace manager said before the game. “When he scores a header tomorrow then it was the right mask with the right protection.

“When I’ve watched JP in training he looks the same like before. He needs to get back into his rhythm, he couldn’t train for two weeks. One week he was just at home then he trained for a week individually.

“He’s been lucky that nothing was fractured, no concussion. It was just the ear. I know it was a terrible injury. Some players say that the ear looks better than before now.’

Asked if Mateta might be affected mentally by the injury Glasner replied: "He did it the whole last two weeks. The doctor and the team did a great job finding the right protection. We tried two or three different ones, everything is approved by the . If I believed it’s a problem, I wouldn’t play him.”

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