Inter’s excellent injury record under Antonio Conte is no coincidence, according to the Nerazzurri’s chief doctor Piero Volpi.

Conte’s side have been one of Serie A’s least-affected teams in terms of injury absences this season, which proved hugely helpful in their bid to win the Scudetto.

Serie A’s 2020-21 season was compressed due to its delayed start after the COVID-19 pandemic, heightening the risk of muscular problems for players throughout the league.

However, Inter have emerged relatively unscathed and Volpi told Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday: “The credit goes to Conte and his staff for the work they’ve done in the last two years.

“They’ve improved the quality and the quantity of Inter’s physical and athletic preparation.

“We do our prevention work as well, before and after games, and we take that very seriously.

“Credit should also go to the team’s medical staff and our therapists; if we’re celebrating today, it’s because this year was a team effort.”

Volpi has carried out a more prominent role than usual at Inter this season, given all the health complications raised by the ongoing pandemic.

Asked what was the biggest difficulty during the season, he explained: “Navigating the various norms regarding COVID-19 was the hardest thing, both sporting and not sporting.

“There were also various local, national and international regulations to deal with.”

Inter survived a COVID-19 outbreak in their squad at the end of March, which led to the postponement of their match at home to Sassuolo.

Volpi identified that moment as the toughest period of the season, adding: “That came right in the key moment of the season, and even the directors caught the virus.

“We’ve had 13 players out of 26 test positive, which is half our squad, split between three periods: October, November and March.”

Volpi also thanked Inter’s players for keeping themselves educated on all matters regarding COVID-19.

“They’ve become experts on it all, they deserve lots of praise,” he concluded.

“I had to speak with them about the pandemic at times and they were incredibly well prepared.”