Jean-Philippe Mateta to wear 'strange looking' Petr Cech-style protective gear as Crystal Palace star returns for first time since suffering horror injury

Jean-Philippe Mateta is set to return to action on Saturday for the first time since being hit by a horrific kung-fu kick by Millwall keeper Liam Roberts earlier this month.

The Crystal Palace striker needed oxygen and 26 stitches to his ear after being brutally taken out during his club's FA Cup fifth round tie with Millwall.

The Frenchman has missed just one match for his club — a 1-0 Premier League home win against Ipswich — due to the international break but has been training and got through 60 minutes in a friendly.

His manager, Oliver Glasner, insists that he has no concerns about his top scorer returning to action and revealed that Mateta will wear protective headgear for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at Fulham.

'It’s like a water polo helmet but with one ear,' said Glasner.

'In water polo it’s so they don’t get water into their ears, he has it just on one side. It sounds crazy but we are used to it.

Jean-Philippe Mateta is kicked in the face by Millwall keeper Liam Roberts earlier this month

The Frenchman was hospitalised and required 26 stitches to his ear after the horror challenge

Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech wore a protective head covering after suffering a fractured skull

'I said to the doctor that I remember Petr Cech wearing this helmet and he said: "Yeah but the ear was free so we need the full helmet". Once he wore one like you use to ride a motorbike but he couldn’t train with this because it was too heavy, then we found the right one.

'He has trained with us for two weeks with this protection. It’s also important for him to train a little bit with an internal game in the international break so he could play for 60 minutes without any problems so he’s ready.

'I could just see it in water polo. I said to him maybe you should try this because he’s tall enough.

'It looks a bit strange but he says he feels comfortable so let’s see. When he scores a header tomorrow then it was the right mask and the right protection.'

Former Chelsea keeper Cech wore a protective head covering after suffering a fractured skull in a collision with Reading’s Stephen Hunt in 2006.

Mateta's team-mate Chris Richards revealed that the headgear hadn't protected him from becoming the butt of dressing-room jokes for his 'bionic ear'.

'He looks like a wrestler,' said the American defender.

'He had a headband on, so we were saying the tennis player Francis Tiafoe. So there's been a few shouts the last few weeks.

Chris Richards revealed the dressing room had compared Mateta to tennis star Francis Tiafoe

Palace manager Oliver Glasner insists he has no concerns about Jean-Philippe Mateta's return

'In training, he's the exact same. I think he enjoys the attention a bit more now, but he's been the same. Have I thought twice about going into a header with him? Not quite. He's got that bionic ear now, so I guess we'll see how it is tomorrow.'

Former Bayern Munich defender Richards is well versed in protected gear, having worn a mask for three weeks when he fractured his nose in Germany.

'I felt like Batman so it was pretty cool in that sense,' he said.

'But psychologically, I was fine with it.'

In an interview last week, Mateta opened up on the damage to his ear.

'I was afraid I’d have broken bones or blood in my brain but in fact, my ear was just destroyed,' he said.

'At the last moment, I had the reflex to turn my face. I was lucky because if I hadn’t, I would have taken his foot right in the head, and it would have been much worse.'

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