An expert in injury prevention has called on football administrators to look again at the fixture calendar, saying players at all levels need to be treated as “people before athletes, and athletes before commercial enterprises”. Liverpool forward Sadio Mane became the latest high-profile Premier League player to succumb to injury within the last month, after suffering a hamstring problem in the Reds’ win over Wolves on Thursday night. He featured in the 2018 World Cup for Senegal before starting 35 of Liverpool’s 38 Premier League games in 2018-19, plus all 13 matches in their victorious Champions League campaign. He was back in action for Liverpool by August 9, and has started 21 of Liverpool’s 23 Premier League matches this season and all six of their Champions League group games. “Clubs in rugby do tend to have two or three months off season, so those players go into the season fully prepared for what’s coming.

Source: Express January 24, 2020 11:37 UTC