Norwich striker James Vaughan was taken to hospital on Sunday after an elbow from Gabriel Tamas left him with a serious facial injury in his side's 1-0 defeat against West Brom.
Vaughan was flattened by Tamas at a corner in stoppage time in an incident which was missed by referee Mark Halsey and forced the forward to see a plastic surgeon to assess the extent of the damage.
The former Everton forward had came on as a second-half substitute having recovered from a knee injury picked up in pre-season following his summer move from Goodison Park.
Norwich manager Paul Lambert confirmed that Tamas's stray elbow had left its mark on Vaughan's mouth.
"James has gone to see the plastic surgeon at the minute, and it is a bad one. It has gone straight through the lip and they can't just stitch it up, the specialist has got to look at it," Lambert said.
"He had got a really nasty gash in his upper lip, which will need a bit of work on it.
"Hopefully we will sort it tonight, and we will have to see how he is."
Lambert was furious that Halsey failed to award a penalty for the challenge as his side failed to end their wait for a first Premier League victory following last season's promotion.
"I think it was a penalty. I have seen it on tape and he has caught him. It is not great, that is for sure," he said.
Tamas's elbow could yet result in retrospective disciplinary action from the Football Association but Albion boss Roy Hodgson added: "I looked at it and as he turns, Tamas catches him with his elbow, but I am 100 percent convinced it is unintentional.
"It was unfortunate, but it does not make it any better for Vaughan whether you have got caught intentionally or accidentally - it is still a painful blow."
Source: AFP
