It was in the European Championship qualifier against Brazil last Wednesday that the veteran goalkeeper was hit in the face by a shot. At the hospital, doctors determined he had a hemorrhage in his left eye.
Palicka was expected to play early in the European Championship game anyway, and the day before Saturday's opener against the Netherlands in Malmö he gave the green light to play. On Wednesday he had a follow-up visit with an eye specialist.
"There were no unusual findings," says the 39-year-old.
The cotton ball in one nostril during Thursday's first training session at Malmö Arena was not because he had been hit in the face again. He has always been prone to nosebleeds.
"I've had that since I was little. If I get a nosebleed, I just put a cotton ball in and go," he says.
