Michael Essien was outstanding under Jose’ Morinho that
Chelsea fans nick named him ‘the bison’ (the polar wilderbeast) for his high
work rate. He got injured in early 2010; missed the world cup and stayed out of
competitive football until early this year. This is in Europe where sports
medical facilities are top notch. Hold that thought and track with me.
Across London we meet Aaron Ramsey who fractured his leg in
2010-11 season that TV stations chose to sensor the footage. In less than a
year, he was on the pitch scoring crucial goals for Arsenal. It is unwise to
compare injuries as many physiological factors go into healing but let us take
a look at local players.
Cross the oceans and just in case you have forgotten him-
George Owino of Sofapaka has not seen action for close to one year now due to a
nagging knee injury. Abdilatiff Mohamed also of Sofapaka is still sidelined for
over a year now due to a knee injury as well.
Crispin ‘Alfy’ Olando of Tusker has not seen action this
season so is Hesky Wanyama of Sofapaka. Emmanuel Tostao of Leopards has been
out for several weeks while Gor Mahia’s Edwin Lavatsa so action for the first
time last weekend against KCB since he got an injury last year.
Last season, several players in KPL were injured off the ball
in circumstances that could make a referee issue a caution card for acting.
Mathare United goalkeeper Martin Musalia just went down during training with a
damaged knee.
The cases are many and I bet every KPL team has a fair share
of injury worries. One contributing factor to injury is our poor playing
surface. Running with football boots on an uneven surface will put pressure on
the ankle. When the ankle resists the pressure it is passed to the knee which
has very sensitive ligaments.
What happens when a player is injured beyond the ice cubes
and deep heat spray later? There must be something lacking in not only injury
management but rehabilitation back to active playing. No sooner had the report
that Abdilatif had resumed training reached the media than word came that he
was back at the operating table. Nobody knows how long he will watch his
colleagues play from the terraces.
The media reported a while back that a sports injury
rehabilitation centre will be set up in Eldoret. This could be an Athletics
Kenya initiative but I urge NOCK to take it up and set up one in Nairobi. This
is not only a football problem but other sports as well. The ones who recover
quickly from their injuries may not be aware of future effects of lack of
proper injury management.
If things are this bad in KPL, how many players are we losing
in the lower leagues? These players play on surfaces that make the not so good
Nyayo Stadium surface look top notch. The easier option adopted by FIFA to sort
out the poor playing surface for third world nations is artificial turf. These
could help but we cannot convert all our thin grass filled football fields into
astro turf.
Injuries lead to loss of talent in all sports disciplines at
the grass roots level. The common remedy for sports related injury is hot water
massage and to the privileged a deep heat cream massage will be fulfilling.
These facilities can be set up in conjunction with existing hospitals. This
will enable the hospitals to offer the services to the general public so as to
raise revenue to subsidize the service for our sportsmen.
On the flip side, rate of injury recovery is directly
proportional to age. The examples I have given above from the EPL of Michael
Essien and Ramsey will buttress my argument. By the time an African player
overcomes the poor structural and moral hurdles to get to European leagues, he
is in his mid twenties. They tend to alter their ages so as to attract better
contracts.
To this end Michael Essien may not be as young as he claims
to be hence the struggle to recover and reclaim match fitness. While the likes
of Aaron Ramsey benefit from the swift system in Europe to break into the big
league at the prime of their youth.
To save our players
agony of slow recovery let us clear the bottlenecks in player identification
and development. This will make them play their best football when their body
can take the pressure. When the body cannot absorb the rigorous regimen of
training and congested fixtures, injuries lurks in the opposing player’s
shadow.
Last but not least is letting only trained personnel train
and handle players. Experience has a place but expertise is crucial. When we
let coaches who do not know the importance of fitness to handle players, he is
setting them up for injury. When medics who are not experienced in sports
related injuries manage the players; it leads to injury aggravation.
Injury is the occupational hazard of every sports men and
women thus inevitable. Minimizing the conditions that lead to or aggravate
injury will protect our players and save them from unnecessary pain. It
involves capital investment but money is never a problem where there is a will
and vision to solve a problem. I hope someone sitting behind a desk opposite
Nakumatt Mega is reading this.
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