He left the field with his ear hanging off - but Super League star Ben Garcia has been left thanking the surgeons who salvaged it.
The Catalans Dragons captain picked up the horrendous injury during his side's 36-10 defeat to the Warrington Wolves on Sunday, with the skin clearly sliced off his ear as he was helped off. Garcia, 29, was then promptly taken to a nearby hospital for surgery.
At one point, it appeared touch and go whether he'd be able to travel back to Perpignan with his teammates. Indeed, the team's private plane back from Newcastle, with the city having hosted Magic Weekend, was delayed as fellow players waited for news.
Catalans boss Steve McNamara told reporters: 'Ben's not good, it's nearly taken his ear off. We're having to see if Ben will have surgery and maybe hold our flight or if he'll have to get his own way back.'
However, after the French international had 20 stitches successfully inserted to reattach his ear, he duly boarded the plane for the journey home. And on Monday, he took to Twitter to upload a picture of his bandaged ear.
"Hi everyone, the surgery went well with 20 stitches to reattach my ear. Thank you all for your messages! he wrote, before also replicating the message in his native language: "La chirurgie c'est bien passé avec 20 points de sutures pour rattaché mon oreille. Merci a tous pour vos messages !"
And the former Penrith Panthers player, who spent a season down under in 2016 between stints with the Dragons, received plenty of support from fans. "So pleased it went well. You're a fantastic player and even better professional and use you to illustrate to my son the things a player needs to be to be a pro," said @Dan_G1374.
@catalanmedia joked about him being fit enough to take his place in the starting line-up to take on Sunday, posting: "Good to see you're in one piece Ben. We've been searching on Amazon and found a head-guard if you're crazy enough to play at Salford"
@chrisholme1983 made a humorous reference to Mick Foley, the WWE wrestler who famously lost an ear during a bout, saying: "You’ve joined a very exclusive club with @RealMickFoley."
Garcia is a popular figure with the club's fans, having played a crucial role in their 2018 Challenge Cup Final victory over Warrington at Wembley Stadium. He also played in their Super League Grand Final loss to St. Helens last year.
McNamara will hope his skipper can return to action soon, with the Dragons lying in fourth following their defeat to the Wolves. After traveling to Manchester, they face a crucial home game with Huddersfield Giants.
It is reigning champions St. Helens who top the table, with Wigan Warriors second. The Giants are five points off top spot in third, with the Dragons just a point further back.
