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Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner has said he feels "very good" despite breaking his lower and lateral eye socket, nose and upper jaw in the 1-0 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday. Gentner, who also suffered from severe concussion, was struck in the head by Koen Casteel's knee when the Wolfsburg keeper came out to clear a high ball and then fell to the ground unconscious. While Wolfsburg started a counterattack, Stuttgart's team doctor Raymond Best and physiotherapist Gerhard Worn rushed onto the pitch to attend to the player as blood rushed out of his mouth and nose. Gentner was taken to hospital and on Monday the Stuttgart captain took to Facebook to state that he is on the road to recovery. "I feel very good. I sustained a few fractures in my face, but nothing irreversible," Gentner wrote. "That is pretty good news. I've seen the pictures of what happened by now." However, Gentner said that he would only post pictures of the left half of his face, adding: "The other half is not made for the public currently." The midfielder, who spent the first night following the incident in intensive care, is set to undergo surgery later this week, Bild reported. The incident had gone unnoticed by referee Guido Winkelmann, and German Football Association referee supervisor Hellmut Krug defended him against criticism, calling the clash "unfortunate." Krug told kicker that Winkelmann contacted the video assistant referee when the match was stopped, who then backed the referee's assessment. "Going by the rules it might have been sketchy, but it's justifiable," he said. However, speaking on Sky Deutschland, former FIFA referee Markus Merk called the incident and the way it was handled by match officials "totally unacceptable."
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