ABSTRACT
As we saw in the first chapter, elite or professional sport involves a relatively high risk of injury, and the injury risk is particularly high in contact sports. In this context, and in sports such as professional football (soccer), the quality of medical care provided by the club doctor and physiotherapists may be of considerable importance, for it may make the difference between an injury-hit squad, in which key players are unavailable for selection, and one which is relatively injury-free. The quality of the medical care may also have a significant impact on the recovery time of players who do get injured. Given this situation, it is perhaps surprising that we know very little about club doctors and physiotherapists, and the roles which they perform within their clubs. The central object of this chapter is to shed some light on what is a largely unexplored area; namely, the role of club medical staff in professional football.
