Josean Lekue: “All the players are in good condition”

Josean Lekue, Athletic Club’s head of medical services, said all the first-team squad returned to pre-season in tip-top shape after the summer break.

The senior players underwent medicals at the IMQ Sports Clinic in Bilbao on July 4 before they began preparing for the upcoming season. Lekue gave a detailed account of all the players and their injury statuses.

“All the players are fully fit and in sound condition to train,” Lekue said at his traditional pre-season conference.

When asked about Oihan Sancet and Dani García, both of whom struggled with hernia issues last term, Athletic’s medical chief said: “Sancet is doing very well. He worked intensively on the injury during the holidays and can train as normal. We’re optimistic about him.

“As for Dani, he couldn’t train or play in March, but he was then fully reincorporated into the squad at the end of the season. He also had a specific work plan to follow over the summer.”

Lekue spoke about the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November and December, admitting he is not overly worried about its impact on the players’ health as breaks during that period are quite common in other parts of the world.

“It’s a novelty for us, but not in the football world,” he said. “In Northern and Central Europe it’s a common occurrence in winter. The scientific evidence shows that a stoppage at that stage of the season is positive from a medical point of view.

“It allows for downtime and unloading in a central moment of the season. It decreases the likelihood and impact of injuries.”

He continued: “Of course, those benefits don’t apply to the players participating in the World Cup. They’ll have an added burden and we’ll have to pay special attention to their workload and the effect of a competition of that level mid-season.”