Maurizio Casasco, the president of the Italian Sports Medicine federation, has discussed the Coronavirus emergency and its effect on Italian football in an interview in today’s paper edition of the Rome based newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
First, he discussed when the players can return to training.
“You have to come to this answer step by step, because the country and the world are struggling with a dramatic health emergency.”
He revealed that the April 3rd date set for a return to training was only the earliest possible restart and is unlikely now.
“We had recommended not earlier than April 3rd as the deadline for starting. I think that the epidemiological trend, the terrible statistics and the ever-changing scientific evidence will suggest to us the possible decision to take. Only then will we officially disseminate, on the basis of the latest scientific information, a protocol indicating the conditions for a return to sporting activity.”
Casasco discussed the criteria they will use to come to a decision regarding a return to training.
“Italy is shaken by a crisis. Health is the first priority. But there will come a time when the country will have to get back on track. The theme of the restart cannot put professional sport, which is an important asset, in front of other essential activities that are priorities at the moment.
“And I am not only talking about the food supply chains, activities related to health care needs and emergency logistics. I would say that the formula could be this, geometric alignment to the decisions that the government and the health and human services will formulate within our country’s system.
“Formula One with colossal interests has stopped, pieces of the economy have stopped. It will have to be restarted taking everything into account, there will be a balance to be achieved, otherwise from the health emergency we will move on to the social emergency of which we already hear the warnings. We must all start again together, Italy must do so. Sport cannot and must not run alone.”
Finally, Casasco discussed how some elderly patients who have passed away from the Coronavirus have been shown to have scars affecting the heart, and whether that could happen to professionals who have been infected like Juventus forward Paulo Dybala. We are not talking about athletes, but mainly elderly people with underlying illnesses.”
“However, every clinical and functional aspect of all organs will be studied in depth, for athletes the various clinical histories will be carefully examined. Great attention will have to be paid to the positive cases, after the tests, in the gradual recovery.
“The professional athletes of the different sports have very high levels of intensity. We must be sure of the integrity of all organs and systems that may have been affected. Not only the heart.
“First of all, the lungs, then the functional capacity of it, then the heart. Competitive sport at a high level undoubtedly entails greater risks in itself and appropriate assessments will be made which, in general, will not be necessary for the population.”
Serie A, like most other leagues around Europe, has been postponed until further notice due to the Coronavirus emergency. Multiple people in the footballing world have contracted the virus, such as Dybala and Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
