Players in the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles, have been charged to always listen to expert advice from the squad’s doctors in order to avoid copping injuries during international assignments, Sports247 reports.
This piece of advice comes from a former head of the Eagles’ medical crew, Dr Dipo Odunuga, who reckoned that some injuries incurred during national team matches might be avoided if the players listen to the squad’s health experts at each point in time.
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However, Dr Odunuga also noted while airing his view on ‘Inside Naija Sports,’ a new live streaming programme on YouTube, via Sports247 Naija television channel, that ego might be an issue to tackle regarding medical advice in the Eagles.
He reasoned that it could be a case of pride on the part of the players or inferiority complex holding back the team’s doctors, then stressed that all personal factors have to be brushed aside for the sake of the national assignment.
Odunuga added, “The medical crew we have now, I’m not sure if they have enough confidence to talk to the players; or maybe the players might feel too proud to listen to the team’s doctors.
“Many of the present officials see the players as superstars who need to be respected, and they don’t want to offend them. It’s only the ones who behave like real professionals among the players that would listen to the medical personnel and understand what is being done.”
Odunuga then called for a change of attitude among the players, with a charge that they should trust national team doctors the same way they pay rapt attention to instructions from medics at their overseas clubs.
“They take instructions from their clubs’ doctors; so they must listen to the Nigerian team’s medical crew. The Eagles’ doctors, too, should not feel inferior to the players and then fail to do the right thing that could save someone from a nasty injury,” Odunuga concluded.
