Own goal & injury: Arsenal man has nightmare international start | OneFootball

Arsenal loan goalkeeper Karl Hein had a disastrous appearance for Estonia on Saturday, scoring an own goal before being substituted due to injury.

Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Karl Hein has played regular minutes for loan club Real Valladolid this season, but he’s had to suffer a lot with the La Liga strugglers.

Playing in goal for the Spanish side, Hein has put in a lot of good performances, but the team have performed terribly and face near-certain relegation. They’re in 20th place, nine points off 19th and 11 points off 17th.

If Hein was hoping for a bit of a break from the melodrama on international duty, he would have been left sorely disappointed on Saturday.

Karl Hein of Estonia during the International Friendly, Länderspiel, Nationalmannschaft match at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence. Date: 11th Novem…

Starting for Estonia against Israel, things initially went well for Hein. He made a good early save, before watching his team take the lead.

Things quickly went south, as a shot rebounded off the post and into the goal off the back of Hein as he attempted to make a save. Think Emi Martinez’s own goal for Aston Villa against Arsenal.

It only got worse, with reports suggesting that Hein’s subsequent half-time substitution was due to injury, and the goalkeeper was unable to continue. Estonia ultimately conceded again and lost 2-1.

Photo via Eesti Jalgpall on Instagram

The extent of Hein’s injury currently isn’t clear, but we’ll get our first indications of its severity in the coming days, with Estonia to play against Moldova on Tuesday.

Hein has started every competitive game for Estonia since June 2022, even captaining the team on many occasions. If he’s not involved on Tuesday, his injury is surely to blame.

Should the Arsenal man miss any significant period of time, it will be yet another nail in Real Valladolid’s coffin this season.