Munster Medical Team

Today it was revealed that Felix Jones would be out til Christmas. It was first thought that he would be out for 4 months but now its been extended to 7.

Paul O'Connell has also been confirmed to miss the opening of the rugby season through injury.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/2012/0815/1224322224074.html

Over the last two years Munster have lost through injury Barry Murphy, Ian Dowling, Denis Leamy, Jerry Flannery, David Wallace and Darragh Hurley.


During the McGahan reign especially, there seems to be major problems with injuries. Players like Jones and O'Connell and even Earls seem to pick multiple injuries. For Earls it seems to little niggles he picks up but it results in him missing a few games every season. Barry Murphy seemed to spend more time injured than fit to play. Even Ronan has had a good few injuries over the years, although he really does throw himself into everything so maybe its as simple as that.


Do other people think that there seems to be a problem with munsters medical staff? Maybe they underestimate the seriousness of the injury and expect them back sooner or they release them to play before they are fully ready? Or maybe they just arent as effective as other teams staff at healing injuries?

Or is it just that most of the retirees (and Paul O'Connell) were coming to the end of their careers anyway and that Murphy, Hurley and Jones are just terribly unlucky?

First article ive done and i have no idea how to put it in the Club section. Any one care to help?

I think there is a major problem with them.

Hey Stag any idea how to put this in the club section?

Yeah they definitely seem to have a disproportionate amount of injuries and delays in returning from them.

Does Penney have any power over the medical staff? and if so can you see him bringing in new guys?

Moved to the club section for you.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Moved to the club section for you.

Thanks you!

The incompetence of some medical teams worries me. I used to feel exactly the same about the Ospreys' medical staff, that more often than not their methods were either insufficient or aggravated injuries more than effectively healing them. The Welsh coaches are probably more guilty than most of disregarding player safety as much as I hate admitting that suspicion.

It should be a question of giving players the necessary time and rest to recuperate completely, not getting them back into the fray as soon as they're able to run again. It's through the latter method that simple niggles become long-standing serious injuries. In reality it needs to be ensured that anything a player suffers is completely healed and to the state it was before the injury was sustained.

Think Stag and I discussed it before. It has something to do with the medical stuff, not all their fault I don't think, possibly to do with the players wanting to come back before they are fully fit and also from the management applying pressure. It is a problem though and I have no idea what the solution is.

Yeah Thomond and me tried to work it out before. Couldn't do it.

All I know is that there is WAY too many to simply be a coincidence.

Knowsit17 wrote:
It should be a question of giving players the necessary time and rest to recuperate completely, not getting them back into the fray as soon as they're able to run again. It's through the latter method that simple niggles become long-standing serious injuries. In reality it needs to be ensured that anything a player suffers is completely healed and to the state it was before the injury was sustained.

Yeah think this could be it alright. O'Connell seems to come back from injury and is straight into a HC or important league match.

Wonder is it pressure from the coaches to play. Would Penney have any control over them or is he stuck with them?

Its up to the medical team to put the brakes on players enthusiasm to come back.

profitius wrote:Its up to the medical team to put the brakes on players enthusiasm to come back.

But what if the manager tells them to strap them up and get them on the pitch?

In the Heineken Cup final against Saints O'Driscoll was not at 100% but he was always going to play and Schmidt was always going to pick him.

Golden wrote:

profitius wrote:Its up to the medical team to put the brakes on players enthusiasm to come back.

But what if the manager tells them to strap them up and get them on the pitch?

In the Heineken Cup final against Saints O'Driscoll was not at 100% but he was always going to play and Schmidt was always going to pick him.

Well they can expect more injuries. I'd say theres only a few games a year where players would be risked.

Im used to watching Ferris hobble off the field - the HEC final was the first time I'd seen him hobble onto the field.

I'm not sure you can blame the medical teams, especially for injuries.

I think if your talking volume of injuries then you have to look at SnC, junior systems, warm up techniques and even fundamentals of movement. The conditioners will have a huge say on how big/fast/strong a player is but tends not to worry about how these things stress the body.

And when it comes to medical issues they treat, and send to the physios for rehab.

Everything goes from the players say so though, and there are so many reasons to get back to games of course theyre never going to recover properly.

There is no blame here it's just human nature, medical teams and physios are just fighting a losing battle!

+1 bluesmancometh

Leinster are starting to get similar injuries to hips/knees across a number of players which feels more than just co-incidence. If training develops too much muscle in certain places the ligaments and joints won't cope and it doesn't matter what the physio or medic tries to do afterwards.

Maybe those sponsored energy drinks designed for pre-during-post games aren't really up to all that?

Felix Jones was injury prone before he left Leinster. Barry Murphy was unfortunate with the level of injuries. Earls to me looks like they try to bulk him up too much. A lot of Munsters other guys getting injuries have a lot of miles on the clock natural wear and tear comes into play. This senior generation is really the first fully professional generation (from start of career to now) so are the first to take the full impact on the joints for all this time. Munster have been at the top of HCup for that generation, they are all at the top of the HCup appearances list. Most of them are internationals on top of that. And Munsters squad would be smaller than the Tigers/Toulouse equivalent with a far lower rate of rotation/turnover.