Reports in this morning’s media have seen Bernie Mandic, personal manager of former Liverpool midfielder Harry Kewell, attack the medical departments of the Premier League’s top clubs. Mandic has levelled his criticism at Liverpool in particular, suggesting that Rafael Benitez is becoming increasingly worried about the treatment Torres is receiving at the club. The Spanish striker is currently out of action with a knee injury, but is known to be carrying a long term hernia complaint that could need an operation.

After spending 5 injury plagued years with Liverpool, where in his last two season at the club he made just 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring just 1 goal, Kewell has had a relatively injury free career in Turkey. Kewell has so far managed 27 goals in 18 months in Istanbul, and clocked up a total of 64 appearances in all competitions to date. Mandic has attributed Kewell’s good health to the treatment the player has received in Australia. Kewell recently sustained an injury to his groin that threatened to bring an abrupt end to his season with Galatasary, however, after visiting doctors in Sydney, Kewell may well return within a 2 weeks. Mandic told The Guardian,

“He lost three and a half years of his career at Liverpool because the guys over there in England had, quite literally, no idea what they were talking about...We had Rafa Benítez call him the other night inquiring who these guys were because Fernando Torres has got such major problems now...We have also had Jonathan Woodgate's physio inquiring about him, because he is apparently almost unfixable”.

Certainly, Mandic’s comments deserve closer scrutiny. Mandic claims that it is no coincidence that Liverpool sustain many soft tissue injuries around November, pointing out that other clubs do not have the same problems, with their players recovering quicker. But is this an accurate assertion? Certainly the treatment of Kewell at Liverpool appeared questionable at times. Kewell was selected for Liverpool’s penalty shoot-out victory over AC Milan in the Champions League Final in 2005, only to be replaced early in the first half with a torn adductor muscle. His selection was seen as a gamble owing to his injury problems, and he was booed off the pitch despite his best efforts to take part in the show piece. It was later revealed that Kewell had spent the entire 2004/05 campaign playing with an undiagnosed hernia problem.

Mandic is now drawing parallels between the situations shared by Kewell and Torres at Anfield. This November for example, Torres was included in the team that played out a 1-1 draw with Lyon, despite the fact that the player was clearly not over a hernia injury, and would probably require surgery at some stage. Benitez told The Guardian “We are trying to manage because he [Torres] was close to having an operation". The uncertainty surrounding the Torres situation is worrying, and Mandic’s comments will not do anything to curtail the concern Liverpool fans may have regarding their best player.

Before Liverpool fans descend into panic however, it should be remembered that Torres has averaged 42 games a season since his arrival at Anfield (although by the end of the year this number may be depleted somewhat), and this is on par with the number he managed at Athletico Madrid. Further, Mandic appears to be aiming his disdain at British medical teams generally. His use of Jonathan Woodgate as another example of a damned British medical system however, does not necessarily bear scrutiny. Woodgate has sought specialist advice in Germany and America with regard to his groin and back injuries throughout his career, not to mention the two seasons he spent on the Real Madrid treatment table between 2004-06. In singling out Jonathan Woodgate, Mandic is technically condemning American, German, Spanish, and British medical treatment. Australia may well have the best sports scientists and doctors in the world, but with the money spent by Premier League clubs on sending their top players all over the world, it is debatable as to whether specialists all over the world, and the club doctors, could really have ‘no idea what they are talking about’.

Mandic's comments may be accurate, perhaps Liverpool do need to take stock of their medical department, and for that matter, perhaps the Premier League is somewhat lacking when compared with their contemporaries down-under. Nevertheless, there is also a possibility that, with Kewell's contract running down at Galatasary, Mandic is reminding us all that his client has put his injury problems behind him, whilst taking a swipe at a club that both Kewell and Mandic have cause for grievance with.