Real Madrid Doctor Warns of Fixture Congestion and Calls for Players’ Health to Come First
Niko Mihic, head of medical services for Real Madrid’s first team, warned of the health risks posed by a crowded football schedule, calling for players to be given longer rest periods and for the number of matches to be reduced. He made the comments to AS during the fifteenth World Congress on Sports Medicine at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Mihic likened the pressure on players to forcing racehorses to run continuously, saying that matches follow one another without sufficient concern for the player’s condition. He also linked the density of fixtures to an increased risk of injuries, including anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and said players are playing an unprecedented number of matches.
He noted that anterior cruciate ligament injuries occur in women at a rate of up to eight times that in men, with no clear medical explanation for the difference so far. He also discussed research into repeated head impacts, explaining that FIFA and UEFA are studying concussion-related events, and that blood markers and portable electroencephalography devices could help improve injury diagnosis.
He added that advances in surgery and injury treatment have helped athletes return to competition and continue competing into advanced ages, citing Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modrić, Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic. He said Real Madrid uses DNA analysis from saliva samples to determine players’ carbohydrate and iron needs and when they should consume them.