As the Bundesliga, the German football championship, resumes this weekend, a doctor warns of potential irreversible lesions caused by Covid-19 in infected players.
This Saturday, German football resumes its rights, framed by a strict health protocol in stadiums behind closed doors. Wilhelm Bloch, professor at the Higher School of Sport in Cologne, is concerned about this recovery and believes that the protocol put in place is not “not 100% sure” in an interview with AFP. In particular, he points to potentially irreversible lung damage in the event of coronavirus infection. This could then lead to a risk of performance decline.
Consequences still unknown
The consequences of Covid-19 are not yet known and an infection could leave indelible traces which could prevent the athlete from regaining all his abilities. “We do not know at the moment whether a minor infection or even mild symptoms do not cause damage, such as small scarring of the lungs after inflammation, or the formation of connective tissue, i.e. fibrosis. . This damage can be irreversible, or can last a very long time before the body repairs it”, he says. Players were already infected at the start of the pandemic and we will quickly realize the effects this has on their performance.
The doctor believes that the health protocol put in place to accompany the resumption of the championship does not sufficiently protect the players. If he admits that the latter “minimize the risks”he adds that “the danger always exists of seeing a player or a member of the management infected with the virus”. Players are not in total quarantine and there is therefore a risk of being infected by a loved one or a family member. Also, the reliability of the tests is not 100%,”there is a relatively large margin of error” he believes, and the players could therefore very well contaminate themselves during a match.
A physical and mental preparation in question
Beyond the coronavirus, the recovery raises questions for the doctor at the level of the physical preparation of the players, two months after the cessation of competitions. Since then, the latter have had little training and have played no matches. “Depending on the degree of preparation, the risk of injury increaseshe projects himself. We can think that the players will be more prone to injuries, and that we will see muscle injuries, but also injuries to the musculoskeletal system, tendons.”
The last point that concerns Wilhelm Bloch is the mental approach to the resumption of competition in the current context. He acknowledges that “it is difficult to assess” but imagine “a difficult transition” who “will not necessarily be good for their performance”. Anyway, the recovery is scheduled for this Saturday, May 16.
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