The coronavirus will pass by most people without a trace.
The highly contagious disease continues to spread at an alarming rate – and can be a deadly danger for some people. Older people with pre-existing conditions are particularly at risk.
But Covid-19, as the last few days have shown, makes no exceptions. As doctor Eva Carneiro has now explained, even the really fit football professionals are at high risk of infection.
The 46-year-old is well versed in professional sport, having worked for six years for top English club FC Chelsea as a team doctor – before she was forced to leave the club after a disagreement with former coach José Mourinho.
“Professional players have been found to be immunocompromised on a regular basis,” she told the Daily Mail. In other words, the immune systems of top athletes are more susceptible to viruses.
Travel stress causes problems
Blood samples and tests would have proven this. “It’s because of all the sport they do,” said Carneiro, who is now a Sports and Exercise Medicine Doctor for the Sports Medical Group on London’s Harley Street.
“Physical activity, at a professional level, sometimes with games every 72 hours, and training, puts a strain on the body,” she said. There is an additional risk, she says, because the players have to travel a lot.
They are therefore not only exposed to many other people at the airports, but often do not get enough sleep. “This creates fatigue, which can also make the players vulnerable.”
In the Premier League, Mikel Arteta (Arsenal FC coach) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea FC player) have tested positive for the corona virus.
Some players do not accept quarantine
Because of the packed appointment calendar, professionals come into contact with a large number of people – considerably more than the average citizen. And if one of the players (or club employees around the team) is infected with a disease, further spread is sometimes difficult to prevent.
After all, the players are often together in the same rooms for a longer period of time – in the locker room but also when eating together. This also creates a sense of community, which, according to Carneiro, can also lead to problems.
It can be difficult to convince players not to visit infected teammates in isolation – or even to talk them out of everyday behaviour such as shaking hands and hugging: “This requires supervision and persuasion.The coronavirus will pass by most people without a trace.
The highly contagious disease continues to spread at an alarming rate – and can be a deadly danger for some people. Older people with pre-existing conditions are particularly at risk.
But Covid-19, as the last few days have shown, makes no exceptions. As doctor Eva Carneiro has now explained, even the really fit football professionals are at high risk of infection.
The 46-year-old is well versed in professional sport, having worked for six years for top English club FC Chelsea as a team doctor – before she was forced to leave the club after a disagreement with former coach José Mourinho.
“Professional players have been found to be immunocompromised on a regular basis,” she told the Daily Mail. In other words, the immune systems of top athletes are more susceptible to viruses.
Travel stress causes problems
Blood samples and tests would have proven this. “It’s because of all the sport they do,” said Carneiro, who is now a Sports and Exercise Medicine Doctor for the Sports Medical Group on London’s Harley Street.
“Physical activity, at a professional level, sometimes with games every 72 hours, and training, puts a strain on the body,” she said. There is an additional risk, she says, because the players have to travel a lot.
They are therefore not only exposed to many other people at the airports, but often do not get enough sleep. “This creates fatigue, which can also make the players vulnerable.”
In the Premier League, Mikel Arteta (Arsenal FC coach) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea FC player) have tested positive for the corona virus.
Some players do not accept quarantine
Because of the packed appointment calendar, professionals come into contact with a large number of people – considerably more than the average citizen. And if one of the players (or club employees around the team) is infected with a disease, further spread is sometimes difficult to prevent.
After all, the players are often together in the same rooms for a longer period of time – in the locker room but also when eating together. This also creates a sense of community, which, according to Carneiro, can also lead to problems.
It can be difficult to convince players not to visit infected teammates in isolation – or even to talk them out of everyday behaviour such as shaking hands and hugging: “This requires supervision and persuasion.
