Dejan Iliev was substituted at half-time on Tuesday, after suffering a head injury in action with loan side SKF Sered.

Arsenal loanee Dejan Iliev started for SKF Sered in the Slovak Cup on Tuesday, playing away to FC ŠTK 1914 Šamorín. Midway through the first half, he went down after a clash with an opponent in the penalty area, holding his head.

Iliev spent a further three minutes down on the turf being assessed, but after patching him up, the medical staff initially determined that he was okay to play on.

The goalkeeper completed the half and maintained his clean sheet, but he was then withdrawn at half-time for Mathew Yakubu, who played the rest of the match.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the substitution was just a precaution, or whether the medical staff determined that Iliev was unable to continue the match.

The injury was clearly not trivial, with Iliev receiving some bandaging during his time down on the floor. If anything, it’s a bit surprising he completed the half at all.

Iliev has immediately made himself a starter for Sered, keeping three clean sheets in his first seven league appearances of his second spell with the club. He even made the Fortuna Liga Team of the Week in one of those starts.

Realistically, Iliev’s time with Arsenal is over. His contract comes to an end at the conclusion of the current campaign, so unless he is recalled in January, he’ll remain on loan until he becomes a free agent.

From that perspective, it’s good to see he’s found a club where he can play regularly. We wish him the best with his recovery so he can be back on the pitch as soon as possible.