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For Omar Elabdellaoui, the new year begins as modestly as the last one ended.
The Norwegian had tested positive for the corona virus in November and had to go into a 14-day quarantine as part of an international trip to Oslo.
Elabdellaoui had mild symptoms and cured his illness before traveling back to his club Galatasaray in Istanbul.
On Boxing Day he was on the field for 90 minutes in a 2-0 win against Trabzonspor.
The 29-year-old will definitely miss next Saturday's game against Antalyaspor.
The reason is dramatic: Elabdellaoui apparently seriously injured himself during New Year's Eve celebrations.
According to Galatasaray, the former Brunswick suffered burns on his face, an eye injury and wounds on his hand.
Elabdellaoui is said to have exploded a firework in hand.
"He's not in mortal danger"
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Galatasaray confirmed the accident, the player had been taken to hospital.
"His life is not in danger," said the club.
According to media reports, it is investigating to what extent the eyesight could have been impaired.
Elabdellaoui played 44 games for Eintracht Braunschweig, 29 of them in the Bundesliga
Source: pa / CITYPRESS 24 / Krzysztof Cichomski / Citypress24
Galatasaray's vice president Abdurrahim Albayrak, coach Fatih Terim and club legend Arda Turan drove to the clinic to visit Elabdellaoui.
"He is conscious and there are no life-threatening injuries," Albayrak said.
Albayrak contradicted the rumor that Elabdellaoui had already been operated on.
After 14 matchdays, Galatasaray leads the table of the Süper Lig with one point ahead of local rivals Besiktas.
After a very weak pre-season, which only ended in sixth place for the 22-time Turkish champions, Galatasaray is once again playing an important role in the battle for the championship this season.