Galatasaray star Noa Lang is set to undergo surgery on the horrendous thumb injury he sustained in a freak accident against Liverpool.
Lang lost balance and put his hands on the advertising hoardings to steady himself in what seemed an innocuous moment.
But it soon became clear that the Dutchman was in complete agony and the faces of pitch-side photographers revealed the horrifying extent of the damage.
Lang caught his thumb on part of the advertising hoarding, severing it in the process.
He immediately fell to the turf in pain, clutching the blood-soaked digit on his right hand.
Players from both sides showed concern as the medical staff rushed on to treat him.
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
Noa Lang severed his thumb after a freak accident involving the advertising hoardings
There was genuine concern from the Liverpool players after Lang sustained the injury
The 26-year-old had to be given oxygen and was carried back to the dressing room on a stretcher. His manager Okan Buruk later confirmed that he was rushed to hospital.
Liverpool full-back and Lang’s Netherlands team-mate Jeremie Frimpong told Dutch media after the game: ‘When I went to check on Noa Lang, a few people told me that half of his finger had been torn off. He was in a lot of pain.’
In his post-match press conference, Buruk said: ‘It is an important issue with his finger.
‘We will know exactly what has happened when he is in hospital and, if he needs an immediate operation here, there will be a decision to make.’
After the game, which Liverpool dominated and won 4-0 to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals, staff were seen inspecting the area where the incident occurred.
It was not clear how exactly Lang cut his thumb, whether there was anything dangerous about the advertising hoarding or if it was simply an unfortunate accident.
In the game itself, Liverpool delivered one of their most impressive displays of the season to comfortably overturn the first-leg deficit.
Dominik Szoboszlai produced a Man of the Match display and scored the opener before winning a penalty that Mo Salah missed.
Hugo Ekitike doubled the lead in the second half before Ryan Gravenberch added a third and Salah curled a trademark strike into the top left corner for number four.
The Reds will meet PSG in the next round.
Lang was in agony and fell to the turf clutching his thumb late in the game at Anfield
Liverpool staff were seen inspecting the area where the incident occurred after the game
Afterwards, Arne Slot reflected: ‘If you get to the late stages of the Champions League, you know one thing for sure is you are going to face PSG because they are an incredible team.
‘We had difficult games against them last season, here at Anfield it was a fantastic game [PSG knocked them out on penalties] the best game I have managed in my career, how football should be played, both teams just trying to entertain the fans.’
‘We were the only team that brought them to extra-time and penalties. But they have shown this season they have not dropped their standards. It was hardly possible for them to improve but they’ve been very impressive until now.
‘But we showed tonight we can perform at the levels we were at last season and that gives me confidence. I don’t think they will be that happy to play for us after seeing our performance tonight.’
