The psychological impact of serious injuries to teammates

[passport1]

I think the timing of both injuries was the main cause of yesterday's performance.  Buendia had his at or near the last training session when most of the prep was done. To then lose Mings 25 mins into the first game meant that any structured plan went out the window. Psychology  the players were probably in a state of disbelief.

[Bad English]

Emery's job is to address that on the fly and reorganise the team. But he looked in a state of disbelief too.

[Chris Smith]

Injuries are an occupational hazard for all sports people so in general I think they deal with them as a routine matter. Obviously at the more extreme end they can be disturbing for teammates but I don’t think Tyrone’s quite falls into that category.

[Dante Lavelli]

Wierdly such event are also a huge opportunity.  A chance for other players to become the loudest voice in the dressing room and take responsibility.  Also a chance to build togetherness from a shared set-back.

Clearly no one would wish this to happen but I’d hope emery will see it as an opportunity, not just a problem.

[Clampy]

Wierdly such event are also a huge opportunity.  A chance for other players to become the loudest voice in the dressing room and take responsibility.  Also a chance to build togetherness from a shared set-back.

Clearly no one would wish this to happen but I’d hope emery will see it as an opportunity, not just a problem.

That's a very positive and refreshing way of looking at it.

[Risso]

As well as seemingly being blighted with really serious injuries, it’s always really important players who get them, or so it seems.

[Nelly]

It must be traumatising to see a leader go off in the manner Mings did. And then, he leaves a hole that's nearly impossible to fill during the game and going forwards.

I'm glad we have an iconic and respected manager because I'd like to think his respect and understanding will help the players refocus. We have seen how meticulous Emery seems to be, so maybe there are backup plans to these types of scenarios.

[Smithy]

And obviously nobody knows the real extent of the injury during the game.

I would say those players know Tyrone incredibly well, and have seen him shake off numerous bangs and bad tackles, so to see him writhing around like he was would have told them all they needed to know about the severity of the injury.

These things undoubtedly have an impact on player performance.  Not enough to excuse a 5-1 defeat, obviously, but once he went off in the manner he did, it was no surprise me to me that we looked a bit 'off it' for large chunks of the game.

[Stu82]

Not hugely related to this point, but I remember reading that Peter Schmeichel had counselling after the David Busst incident.

A bit different that though, seeing somebody's snapped bone poking out of their shin.

And so much blood on the pitch, they had to get someone on with a mop.

My Dad was mates with Busst's dad back in the day, he had an awful time post injury.

I saw a photo of his leg 5 or 6 years ago and it is still an absolute fucking casserole of misshaped bone and muscle.

Used to have a kick around with Dave and his brother, when his Dad played for Highgate united.

[Hookeysmith]

If selected on Sunday i wonder how Diego Carlos will get his head around first home game of the season at home to Everton............considering what happened last year almost to the day?