Kerala-born Dr Prithish Shyam Narayan, Leicester City FC’s club doctor, wants the sports industry to spark stronger mental health conversations for footballers during the pandemic and the high-pressure Premier League season.
When Prithvi Shyam Narayan was 16 years old, his mother asked him what his dream was. He replied without hesitation, “I want to be a club doctor for Arsenal!” His mother and father nodded politely, but Pritish had decided that this was his destiny. At this time, in the early 2000s, there was not much dialogue about sports doctors. A few weeks ago, 31-year-old Pritish was talking with his mother on the phone and laughingly said, “Mom, there we are!”
Prithish is now Co-Head of Academy Medicine and First Team Trauma Doctor for Leicester City Football Club, having been Club Doctor for Coventry City Football Club. Prithish is also a specialist registrar in trauma and orthopedics for the National Health Service in the UK.
he chats Hindu On a video call from his home in Leicester just before his club’s match against Manchester City for the Premier League.
Pritish’s formative years ensured that, funnily enough, cricket was in his blood. With family roots in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram, and grew up in Botswana and then moved to Australia, he nurtured that passion to play professionally and his parents supported this ambition and drive. At the end of his student years at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth, he was selected by national scouts for the Western Australia state cricket team. But he was in two minds: Was this a flash-in-the-pan thing or would it be the endeavor of a lifetime?
Dr Prithish Shyam Narayan, Co-Head of Academy Medicine and First Team Trauma Doctor at Leicester City Football Club. photo Credit: special arrangement
“I spoke to my parents and my main concern was what would happen after cricket. Usually, you see cricketers playing the role of a journalist or doing TV pedantry and commentary. So I decided – and it was a really difficult decision because I was eating cricket, dreaming and sleeping – that an MD would serve me well in the long run. But after that, my dream of becoming a doctor was alive and well,” he recalls. “No regrets though! Sometimes I watch the WA cricket team and with a lot of people I play for the national team, so sometimes I wonder what would have happened.
But getting into medical school in Australia was not easy; Pritish missed the mark by percentage. Still determined, Pritish looked to the United Kingdom; He did his MBBS at the University of Southampton and is completing his Masters in Sports and Exercise Medicine from the University of Bath. He is also a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
After this, he recalls, “Despite keeping my mind open to other specializations, I turned to trauma orthopedics, which was well-tolerated with sports injuries.”
Things changed when, in 2019, a colleague of Prithish – a former Coventry City FC club doctor – urged him to contact the team’s staff management. In no time, Pritish snatched the position. He worked with Coventry City FC for two years until he moved to Leicester City Football Club in May 2021.
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During this time in 2020, he completed a one-year Diploma in Football Medicine with the Fédération Internationale de Ftbol Association (FIFA), giving him an idea of what to expect in the world of elite athletes.
life of a club doctor
Leicester City FC have had a very good transfer window this 2021 and Prithish credits this successful recruitment to team manager Brendan Rodgers, for whom he has long been respected. “Meeting him for the first time and being a colleague was also pleasant and genuine,” he says with a big grin. “Rodgers and the medical team are working on creating a new approach for the team. They wanted new medics on board and that’s how I got this opportunity… This transfer season has been really smart; they’ve been playing the players they like. take a long time to find out and bring in people they know can help the club. It’s nice to see it’s a well rounded club and even money point of view Also, it’s a very sensible spend.”
On 4 August, during Leicester City FC’s match – which was also Prithvi’s first match – against Villarreal FC, central defender Wesley Fofana was taken to hospital with a traumatic fibula fracture. Prithish was battling an injury to Fofana at the time, which marked his move to become the team’s first trauma doctor.
Prithish Shyam Narayan with Coventry City FC captain Liam Kelly and head physiotherapist Paul Godfrey
Working with elite athletes also brings club doctors into the limelight and public criticism of being a club doctor. Prithish says, “The game has evolved; It’s not just about dealing with a serious injury. Behind the scenes, there are departments for strength and conditioning and fitness, to bring in the best mental, physical and emotional conditioning a player can have before the game. They create special programs for each player to prevent injury or further injury in some cases.”
The overall perception of club doctors has evolved over the years; They aren’t the only fluorescent jackets that hit the ground with stuffed bags when a medical crisis strikes. In the case of 29-year-old Danish footballer Christian Eriksson, who suffered a cardiac arrest in the 42nd minute of the Euro 2020 match against Finland. As he was revived by a responsive medical team, the incident highlighted the work of the club’s doctors.
a data-driven world
- Prithish reveals that the data is integral to doctors as well, elaborating, “Analysts are evaluating the trends of players in terms of peak speed, defense, shooting etc for their statistics. These numbers reduce the discrepancies in terms of ‘how strong is this quad versus that quad’ and we have state-of-the-art medical equipment that can tell you the difference in quadriceps strength in contraction. It has become more science-driven, a far cry from what it was many years ago. ”
- Such resources and funding are certainly a far cry from those in the NHS where they are disseminated in very small amounts. But Prithish accepts the challenge and triumphs of serving the larger community as he says it helps him become a better club doctor.
Agreeing with this, Prithish explains, “In Erickson’s case, the planning and preparation were good, with medical teams ready to assist immediately and also ensuring a smooth transfer to a hospital. It shows the world that we have to be prepared and be prepared for the worst. In case of a cardiac event, physicians have to ensure that the player has a towel to dry off, sticky pads to sit on, a razor to shave their chest, to ensure that the defibrillator works. – And there have been many incidents in the elite. Sports where the defibrillator is out and there is no charge can increase the risk of long-term injury. “
Prithish also points out that before the Games, medical staff undergo malleable training, where simulations are timed and monitored, to keep medical staff on their toes. International bodies such as the Premier League and UEFA have also ordered these practices to be maintained.
It is clear that it is up to the medical team to keep an eye on every movement of the players on the field. “If you see medics on TV, we’re not watching the match, so to speak,” Prithish explains, “we’re evaluating our players. After a tackle or a fall, our responsibility and instinct is to cause injury or stress. So you can imagine, in two hours of play, that time flies by so fast for us – it’s like in the blink of an eye. I don’t even know where the ball is.”
Prithish himself being a recreational player understands the world of pre-game superstitions of the players. In his cricketing days, he always spoke of putting the pad of his left shin before his right. Coming into football, he has seen players create make-shift, non-functional shin pads with family photos or personal mementos for fortune and grounding inside. He has also seen some other players dousing themselves in baby oil and petroleum to avoid catching other players during the game.
mental health pressure
Athletes such as tennis player Naomi Osaka, swimmer Michael Phelps, cricketers Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan and gymnast Simone Biles are prioritizing the mental health conversation for a more supportive sports industry. Pritish, working with football players who are on the world stage with pressure from both fans and stakeholders, has seen the invisible struggles athletes face.
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“Pandemics have brought to light the mentality side of health, while the injury side of health has been prominent pre-pandemic,” he describes. “Also, with these athletes coming forward and talking about it, it’s also great for the recreational athlete who can look out for their mental health as well.”
Josh Pask of Coventry City FC is injured, and being treated by Dr Prithish Narayan, during the Sky Bet Championship match between AFC Bournemouth and Coventry City on April 10, 2021 in Bournemouth, England, between AFC Bournemouth and Coventry City before being pulled off the pitch. | photo Credit: Warren Little / Getty Images
“Earlier, you used to go through a health panel code asking regular questions, but now, the conversation is different and I check a lot when I see that a player is not on a normal mental or emotional wavelength, Prithish comments. He adds, “I assured them that we are not only investing in their physical health, that they can talk to us about other things as well.”
Prithish elaborated that until the start of the ongoing season, footballers were playing behind closed doors. The separation has been hard on them as they play games for fans that bring another energy to the experience; So playing in an empty stadium where they can’t hear the live sound of fans can feel demotivated. Also, due to the restrictions induced by the pandemic, the players had to stay at home. “Great credit to all the players who had to carry on despite being exhausted a lot. I see them on training days and I still see them changing their headspace in game modes. I don’t know how they do it, because it definitely felt uncomfortable on this side of the fence. “
Fans are also more sympathetic, he says, explaining, “There’s a two-way street in understanding here. Athletes are much more outspoken on social media, sharing what they’ve gone through and that’s a lot more transparency. Players are also aware that striving for perfectionism comes at a cost so they are aware of the dangers of self-pressure.”
Prithish also worked in NHS clinics from morning till evening, then had to jump in his car and drive to games in different parts of the country. “I joke with my friends about how in the last 18 months, I covered almost 36,000 kilometres,” he laughs. “But it’s all worth it.”
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