The Indian national coach Igor Stimac feels the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs should be more careful about the players’ injuries and not force them to play after giving them painkillers. With the Asian Cup nine months away, the coach said that this kind of practice is a matter of concern as it is very damaging to a player’s health and can jeopardise his career in the long run.
“I am certain the clubs who employ the players are taking good care of the players. But one thing I am not happy about is that the players are given injections to cover their injuries. I have found this with two players who arrived at the national camp,” Stimac said. “This is not the right practice as the players’ health is sacrificed by applying painkillers. That’s one thing I would suggest not be done in the future nine months,” he added with a note of caution.
Stimac felt that these temporary cures harm the players a lot. “Missing one game will not change anything but getting a player to play the match by applying painkillers will be very damaging. It is always advisable for the players to remain in their best of fitness and perform at the highest level,” he said.
“As a coach myself, I never try to put a player on the pitch if he has any kind of problem because a fit player is always better even if he is 50 per cent of the quality compared to the one who is having some kind of injury issue. The former will do a better job on the pitch than the one having some problems. I will never sacrifice a player’s health for any reason,” Stimac reasoned.
Comments
SHARE