Chelsea goalkeeper, Emi Martínez ,has undergone surgery after sustaining a serious head injury during his side’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Saturday, with the Argentine expecting to return to action in a few weeks.
The 34-year-old confirmed that his operation was successful in a social media post late Saturday night, thanking fans for their messages of support and expressing optimism about his recovery.
“Thank you all for the messages, the operation went well. The most important thing is that we won and with a bow at 0. We’ll be back in a few weeks.”
Martínez suffered the injury in the 67th minute at the Hill Dickinson Stadium when he collided with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite while attempting to punch away a free kick delivered into Chelsea’s penalty area.
Both players received medical attention on the pitch, but Branthwaite recovered quickly and was able to continue.
Martínez required a much longer period of treatment from Chelsea’s medical staff and paramedics before being carried off on a stretcher while receiving oxygen.
The goalkeeper was subsequently replaced by 21-year-old Mike Penders in the 75th minute.
The lengthy interruption contributed to 11 minutes of added time at the end of the encounter.
Chelsea head coach, Xabi Alonso had earlier confirmed that Martínez was conscious when he left the stadium and had been taken to hospital for further examinations.
“He was conscious when leaving the stadium and was taken to hospital for “precautionary tests,”” Alonso said, adding: “For now, we need to wait.”
He also disclosed that the goalkeeper had suffered a concussion, although further details of the injury remained unclear.
“It was a concussion, but more than that. I saw just one clip, but we’ll have to wait.”
Meanwhile, Everton manager David Moyes expressed concern over the incident, admitting that he had not seen exactly how the collision occurred.
“I just said to TV, I’ve not seen the Martínez injury yet, so I hope he’s fine. I really do. I couldn’t even see from the dugout. It just looked as if it was a sharing ball in between a couple of people. I don’t know what else happened.”
Despite the worrying incident, Chelsea secured all three points courtesy of Pedro Neto’s two goals, bringing Everton’s unbeaten start to the campaign to an end.
Neto dedicated the victory to his injured teammate, expressing sympathy over the circumstances surrounding Martínez’s departure.
“We are really pleased. Shame for Emi, but we wish you all the best. This win is for him,” Neto told TNT Sports.
The result also marked Chelsea’s first clean sheet of the season, providing Alonso with further encouragement following a disciplined defensive display away from home.
The Chelsea manager praised his players for their organisation and resilience, particularly during difficult periods of the match.
“I’m really pleased with the performance, with the win, with the clean sheet,” Alonso said. “There are many positives to build on from today. We knew it was going to be a hard challenge to win in this stadium, but we did many things to deserve the win. I think we got many things right. We were very professional, very solid, and it’s good to have this feeling to win this way.
“We needed to feel like we could win in this way — being solid, being strong, looking in control and going through difficult moments.
“In the first half, there were moments where there were corners and throw-ins and you need to overcome these moments. It’s very hard in the Premier League to have full control of the game but you need to make sure you don’t lose your shape or your condition, and today we did that really well.”
Chelsea will now monitor Martínez’s recovery following the operation, with the goalkeeper hopeful of returning to action within the next few weeks.
