Galatasaray star's frightening appearance in mixed zone sums up severity of grim injury

Liverpool knocked Galatasaray out of the Champions League with Noa Lang picking up a horror injury in the second half which saw him stretchered off and taken to hospital

Noa Lang picked up a horror injury at Anfield.(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Galatasaray forward Noa Lang sustained a nasty hand injury as his side was knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool, with the player posting an update on social media.

After the game, he was stretchered through the Anfield mixed zone — the area where players can stop to speak to journalists — where he was taken to the hospital. The 26-year-old Dutchman has since undergone surgery.

While Arne Slot's side managed to comfortably overturn the deficit on home turf, the gruesome injury was a talking point. Having begun on the substitutes' bench, the winger was introduced at the beginning of the second half as a replacement for Sacha Boey.

Nevertheless, Lang was forced off before the final whistle after colliding with pitch-side advertising boards and cutting his thumb with approximately 10 minutes remaining.

Medical staff rushed to attend to the 26-year-old as he collapsed to the ground writhing in agony, before transporting him off on a stretcher and taking him to Whiston Hospital for additional treatment.

Providing an update on the player after the 4-0 defeat, Galatasaray head coach, Okan Buruk, said: "He is going to the hospital because of the important issue he has with his finger. If there is an operation, they will do it here."

Galatasaray also issued a statement which stated: "In the first half of our away match against Liverpool in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg, our player Victor Osimhen took a blow to his arm and completed the first half, but following checks at half-time, he was not played in the second half due to the risk of a fracture in his arm.

Noa Lang posted a picture from hospital after his injury against Liverpool(Image: @noano/Instagram)

"After the match, under the supervision of our medical team, examinations at the hospital revealed a fracture in our player's right forearm, and it was casted. A decision regarding surgery will be made in the coming days following further evaluations.

"In the second half of the same match, our player Noa Lang, who suffered an injury, sustained a serious cut to his right thumb, and it is planned for him to undergo surgery in Liverpool in the coming hours with the participation of our medical team."

Lang later provided his own update from the hospital, posting a cheerful selfie with nurses. He simply captioned the post: "S--- happens."

Posting on his Instagram story, he added: "Surgery went well! Thanks for all the messages." Lang's Dutch international colleagues Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Jeremie Frimpong all responded to the message, as did Milos Kerkez and Curtis Jones.

Liverpool progressed to the Champions League quarterfinals following a commanding 4-1 aggregate victory over Galatasaray, and will now meet PSG home and away in April.

Dominik Szoboszlai broke the deadlock on the evening during the first half, calmly finishing after racing into the penalty area unmarked from a cleverly executed corner routine.

Hugo Ekitike was subsequently found at the far post by Mohamed Salah early in the second period, with minimal effort required as he guided the ball beyond Ugurcan Cakir.

Ryan Gravenberch extended the advantage to 3-0 shortly afterwards with a powerful strike from the rebound of Salah's original effort, before the Egyptian forward added his name to the scoresheet, bending the ball into the corner following some intricate interchange with Florian Wirtz.

The first leg of the quarterfinals takes place at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, April 8. The return fixture at Anfield will then occur on Tuesday, April 14.