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Aliya Mustafina - injury update

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With thanks to Nico of The Liukin blog, who produced this summary/translation of an interview with Valentina Rodionenko.

Source - http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=8798

  • Aliya began treatment today in Munich, where she'll be staying for two weeks. So far the specialists don't think it's anything more severe than the inflammation that has been coming and going for a few years.  So more than anything Aliya needs to take it easy and not put so much stress on her back.

    Her condition most likely won't require any kind of surgery, otherwise the doctors would have mentioned it early on.  However, Aliya has been enduring the pain for a long time and relying on painkillers to the point that they were no longer working, and Aliya was refusing other kinds of treatment. Then everything started to take its toll on her in Stuttgart, so that prompted the immediate examination. And of course, the Russian coaches don't have much confidence in the medical team back home, so they sought treatment in Munich where they fully examined her, took photos, and everything to confirm the diagnosis.

    Right now they are going with a two-week treatment plus additional rehab. Although there is no guarantee this will 'cure' her condition given the nature of the sport and having to return to full training eventually, Valentina hopes Aliya can return by the start of the new year.

    Aliya kept refusing treatment because she felt obliged to always be available for her team (Valentina says Aliya is very patriotic). But we're beginning to see how that attitude is backfiring despite having her heart in the right place.

    On a side note, Valentina was pleased with Afanasyeva's return to competition and thought she did well. She's still gradually recovering.




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Comments

  1. Anonymous8 December 2014 at 00:16

    "And of course, the Russian coaches don't have much confidence in the medical team back home"

    I think that's kind of a quick interpretation ! I would rather imagine that the Russian coaches send their athletes to Germany because Germany has some of the the bests specialists in Europe.
    That's exactly what a Federation is supposed to do for top level gymnasts : provide them the best medical care possible, even if that means travelling across Europe.
    That doesn't necessarily mean that Russian doctors are incompetent and that the Russian coaches don't trust them.

    And by the way other countries are doing exactly the same thing, for example some members of the Romanian national team have been recently treated in Turkey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10 December 2014 at 07:55

    Aliya pleasee take some time off to heal properly. I am really counting for her in Rio2016. LOVE YOU Aliya :))

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11 December 2014 at 20:18

    I'd like to think that humanitarianism, not patriotism, is what keeps her in that hellhole. I'd like to think that she stays for sake of the little ones, not herself.

    ReplyDelete

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