Kewell's agent slams Liverpool, UK doctors SEBASTIAN HASSETT
February 2, 2010
HARRY KEWELL'S agent believes the football world was never able to see the best of the striker at Liverpool because of the ineptitude of the British medical system, which repeatedly failed to correctly diagnose and treat Kewell's injuries.
Bernie Mandic, who has enjoyed a career-long association with Kewell, revealed that his star client was repeatedly denied access to the world's leading medical authorities, which he believes are found in Australia, where Kewell now receives treatment.
The Galatasaray star is in Sydney to have his injured groin assessed, with the good news arriving yesterday that the injury - which some had speculated could keep him sidelined for months - would keep him from training for just two weeks, with a full comeback thought to be about a month away.
While Kewell, 31, has largely managed to resurrect his career in Turkey, Mandic and his marquee client have been left to ponder what might have been had Liverpool's medical staff allowed Kewell to be assessed elsewhere during what should have been the peak years of his career.
''The reason he gets treated out here now is because we have the best medical staff in the world,'' Mandic told the Herald yesterday. ''He lost 3½ years of his career at Liverpool because the guys over there in England had, quite literally, no idea what they were talking about.
''You have to wonder what they're doing over there. Perhaps they're trying to protect their reputations, but they're certainly not trying to protect their players. I think it's a disgrace, as I think it was a disgrace the way Harry was treated. What goes around comes around, and people are now wondering, 'How has he recovered like that?' when everyone in England thought he was a broken toy …
''It's a damn shame we didn't … come here earlier. If nothing else, the last World Cup would have seen a far better Harry and maybe they could have avoided the [foot] injury he suffered in the end. But that's life, you learn from it, move on, and that's exactly what Harry's done. Now he doesn't take any chances. He likes to get second opinions, and the bottom line is that Australian doctors have never let him down.''
Ironically, Liverpool - who are believed to have thought Kewell would never make a full recovery - are now trying to track down the Australian specialists who brought him back to full health.
''We had Rafa Benitez call him the other night inquiring who these guys were because Fernando Torres has got such major problems now,'' Mandic said. ''Then we've had Jonathan Woodgate's physio, Dave Hancock, who used to work at Chelsea and before that worked with Harry and Jonathan at Leeds, inquiring about Jonathan, who is apparently almost unfixable.
''Look at Liverpool - why is it that over so many recent years, usually around November, lots of their key players are injured? … It's always soft-tissue injuries. How come other clubs, like Arsenal, don't have that sort of a dilemma? And why do their players recover quicker? There's logical reasons for all of this.''
Aussie Rag :PSurprised our posters across in Australia didn't pick up on this gem?!
I saw one response on another site that asked if they'd given him a laziectomy yet
