Emi Martinez has sent a touching message to Chelsea fans on Instagram after undergoing surgery on his jaw. The goalkeeper had been stretchered off during Chelsea’s win over Everton on Saturday.

The Blues secured a 2-0 win thanks to Pedro Neto’s brace, ending a run of 23 Premier League games with no clean sheet. But towards the end of the game, Martinez was stretchered off after a nasty collision.

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Defending a free-kick, Martinez and Jarrad Branthwaite collided at full impact. Martinez was left on the deck for the best part of 10 minutes before being stretchered off and taken straight to hospital.

Emi Martinez sends message to Chelsea fans after his operation

Xabi Alonso said after the game he had arrived at hospital for tests, and it was then confirmed late on Saturday night he had picked up a jaw injury. An operation has now been done to correct the problem.

With reports claiming Martinez could now be sidelined until December, the former Aston Villa stopper took to Instagram to send a message to Chelsea fans – underlining his delight that Chelsea got the win.

A groggy Martinez posted in the early hours: “Thanks to everyone for the messages, the operation went well. The most important thing is that we won and kept a clean sheet. We’ll be back in a few weeks.”

Among the responses, despite the timing, was Moises Caicedo, who commented “mi hermanito” or “my brother”. Morgan Rogers commented “My GK” while John Terry posted three blue heart emojis.

Mike Penders faces huge test with Liverpool and Man United next

The news regarding Martinez’s absence is not good, but it could be worse. Given the nature of the injury, there was some serious concern for the Argentine as he remained on the deck for a while on Saturday.

He will be missing for 40 days, expected to miss six Chelsea games, and Argentina’s games in November against Uruguay and Costa Rica. Now, Alonso will be forced to throw Mike Penders in at the deep end.

Penders was always likely to start against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, but he is now set to play against Man United next weekend and then Sunderland before the international break.

On Saturday, Penders became Chelsea’s youngest-ever Premier League goalkeeper, beating Lenny Pidgeley’s record by two weeks. Now, Chelsea will be hoping he can continue to make more history.