Galatasaray star Noah Lang has undergone surgery after being sent off in the Champions League against Liverpool with a serious hand injury. The winger collapsed 10 minutes after colliding with an advertising board and immediately clenched his thumb in the final stages of his team’s 4-0 Champions League defeat at Anfield.
The game was stopped for several minutes as blood was seen and medical staff from both teams rushed to treat him. They bandaged his thumb to stop the bleeding before being taken away on a stretcher. The 26-year-old man was placed on oxygen and taken to hospital for further treatment.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said after the match: “He is going to the hospital because he has a serious problem with his finger. If there is an operation, it will be done here. Victor Osimhen has hurt his arm and he wanted to come out of the game at half-time, but he is in the hospital.”
On Thursday morning, Lang shared a photo on Instagram of herself in a hospital bed alongside nurses. The post read, “The surgery went well! Thank you for all the messages,” followed by a heart emoji. In another post he wrote: “Things like this happen.”
Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenbirch quickly responded to the update with a prayer and red heart emoji.
Osimhen also suffered a painful injury in the first half, and Galatasaray released updates on both players early Thursday morning.
“During the first half of the away match against Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, our player Victor Osimhen suffered a blow to the arm and finished the first half, but a half-time test revealed that he was unable to play in the second half because he was at risk of breaking his arm,” the club said in a statement.
“After the match, tests at the hospital under the supervision of the medical team revealed a fracture in the player’s right forearm, which was placed in a cast. Following further tests, a decision on surgery will be made in the coming days.”
“Later in the same match, our injured player Noah Lang sustained a serious injury to his right thumb and will undergo surgery in the next few hours in Liverpool with the participation of our medical team.”
Liverpool secured a place in the quarter-finals with a 4-0 win in the second leg at Anfield, with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenbirch and Mohamed Salah. Arne Slott’s side will face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, with both games scheduled for next month.
