What Do Top Footballers Do When They Feel Unwell?
Off the ball…
Football is quite understandably the most popular sport in the world. The top footballers earn some of the highest weekly wages in the world and their every movement both on and off the field is watched and scrutinised by millions of people. While all the money swirls around and endorsement deals and advertisement campaigns make footballers out to be digital machines, they are at the root of it all just human beings with the same physiology that we have. Their job is just to chase a ball around skilfully and to stay as fit as possible for lots of money.<br/><br/> So what happens when these highly physically scrutinised individuals get sick?<br/><br/> Can They Call In Sick?<br/><br/> When their team has a massive game coming up at the weekend with the league on the line and with an international scout coming to watch them, they may find it a bit tricky to call in sick. Imagine you were in their position how would you approach that conversation? 'Hi, yeah sorry I'm not going to make it to the game today, I've got a bit of a cold…' There is a fine line for a professional athlete between what is right for the club, what is right for their body and ultimately what is right for their career overall. If they were ill and yet still took the field and underperformed, resulting in their team losing, would that be worse than if they didn't play at all. And if they did play and made their illness worse, it might make them ill for longer or may invoke some kind of higher, career threatening illness that could have been avoided by just taking a day off. At the end of the day it is really the job of the club physician to decide whether they should play or not.<br/><br/> Who Helps Them Get Better?<br/><br/> If it is just a cold or something they might just go and see their regular doctor or the clubs doctor. Then spend time at home in bed. But for something more serious they will likely be sent to one of the world's top specialists depending on the condition. For sports injuries like ligament damage, muscles injuries and broken bones they can be taken by the club around the world to find a cure. After all the club is paying them thousands of pounds a day so the sooner they get them fixed the sooner they will see a return on their investment. Smaller clubs however may have to go through a locum agency to find someone who can take up their physiotherapy jobs at a price they can afford.<br/><br/> So what do top footballers do when they feel unwell? Much the same as us but with a million pound football club mopping their brow.<br/><br/><br/><br/>
About the Author
Sam Qam has had several freelance physiotherapy jobs. He got his current job working for a football club through a specialist locum agency
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