The Istanbul defender Elabdellaoui is not ready to find the grounds. – Ian MacNicol / AP / SIPA

Norwegian international defender Omar Elabdellaoui, who plays in Turkey at Galatasaray,

was seriously injured in the face

and both-eyed by fireworks during New Year’s celebrations, his doctor and club said on Friday.

He did not lose either eye

Le défenseur stambouliote Elabdellaoui n'est pas prêt de retrouver les terrains. Elabdellaoui «arrived at the hospital yesterday around midnight. He is injured in both eyes. We took care of him with a plastic surgeon and a team of ophthalmologists, ”Professor Vedat Kaya, from the Liv hospital where the player is being treated, said on Friday.

Norway and Galatasaray defender Omar Elabdellaoui has been injured by a firework after it blew in his hand. Elabdellaoui suffered burns to his face and damage to his eyes. pic.twitter.com/0TC5abpJ94

– PLAYBET (@PLAYBET)

January 2, 2020

If Elabdellaoui has not lost the Sight, one eye was more seriously affected than the other, the doctor said, adding that he was “better today” but that it was too early to rule out long-term consequences. He also refused to comment on the date of his return to the football fields.

Fireworks that explode at the wrong time

President of Galatasaray Mustafa Cengiz, who visited the player Friday, told the press that “his morale is good,” but that he “took a hit.” “His condition is improving, we must keep hope. I think we will have to wait a week or two “to see more clearly about his condition, he added. According to Turkish press , the player was burned in the face by fireworks that exploded in his hands at his home during festivities marking the end of the year 2020.