Reportedly, Real Madrid have parted ways with Niko Mihic, their chief medical officer. There were several problems involving the injuries of various Los Blancos players. The Croatian medical officer was close to the Croatian players of the club and the president Florentino Perez. However, the big numbers of injuries and relapses was not impressing anyone at the club. The way Mihic handled Arda Guler and his case became the last straw for Los Blancos. Hence, they cut off their ties with Mihic after 6 years of relationship.
Niko Mihic joined Real Madrid back in 2017. Apparently, some players had doubts regarding Mihic’s methods. However, he made everything work and along with Pintus, the medical officer was able to make Real Madrid one of the healthiest teams out there.
However, in the last few years, his work has not impressed the club officials. According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, the case of Arda Guler became too much for Los Blancos. They did not approve of Mihic’s way of treatment and decided to part ways with him.
Arda Guler arrived at Real Madrid this summer transfer window. He already arrived with a small meniscus injury when he transferred from the Turkish club Fenerbahce. It took time for the 18-year-old to recover from that.
He was training on the sidelines during Madrid’s trip to the United States in the pre-season tour. The club then made the injury public for Guler to be able to return to Madrid properly. Guler then spent two weeks there till decisions regarding a surgery were set to be made.
Apparently, Mihic did not agree on the surgery. However, he finally had to give up on the idea in his fight against Dr. Leyes. Dr. Leyes was the one who finally operated on Guler. However, even after the surgery, Guler’s main problem became multiple relapses and muscle injuries.
In recent weeks, the discrepancies regarding Guler in the club’s different physical plots, like physios, physical trainers, and readapters became conspicuous. Reportedly, this became the last nail on the coffin for Mihic’s departure.
However, the problem was not only Guler, but also involved a number of injured players before him. Dr. Leyes not only operated on Guler, but he also operated on the knees of Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.
However, it will still be a long time since the two key players are back on the field. Before them, there were cases involving Dani Ceballos, David Alaba, Karim Benzema, and more. Apparently, these cases already started creating friction between the club’s medical services and the players.
As a result, after 6 years, Mihic was let go from the club. Real Madrid have been plagued with injuries since the start of the season. Along with Guler, Courtois, and Militao, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Jude Bellingham are also out with minor injuries.
More players, like Vinicius Jr, Ferland Mendy, Dani Carvajal, and more players became injured and recovered. Los Blancos have still managed to perform well in all competitions so far. They are 2nd in the La Liga table and have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages.
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