I for one am not in the know of what goes on 'medically' in football, I have no idea what goes on with players medicals You forget they actually are human sometimes and it takes something awful like a footballer having a cardiac arrest or being diagnosed with leukaemia for you to remember they are people, with lives, like ours, only with nicer cars.
So we thought why not ask the main man....
Can you tell us a bit about your background, how you started out in medicine and how it led to becoming a doctor for Arsenal Football Club and the England National Team?
I left school at 17 without any qualifications. After working in various jobs, I went back into education at the age of 24, took A levels and got into medical school. I won a scholarship to study Sports Medicine and gained a diploma in 1997, and an MSc in 1997. I started in football medicine in 1987 at Leyton Orient, and worked at Chelsea, Watford, Fulham, then Arsenal, before applying for my job as Head of Medical Services at the FA in 2008, starting in 2009.
Being a former Aresnal doctor, you must keep an eye on how they are doing You must be delighted to see Wenger turn things round this year? They did seem in trouble only a couple of months ago..
Of course. Half my family are Arsenal supports, and half Spurs. I was in the clock end when Arsenal won the inter-cities fairs cup in 1970, so have been going to games for a long time. Glad things are getting better, and hope they continue to do so.
Which came first, the love for football or medicine?
Football. When I started playing, I never knew what I wanted to do.
When you decided to go into medicine, was the intention always to work with athletes?
No. I was just pleased to get into medical school. I wasn’t sure at the time I would be able to hack it, so nothing beyond qualification.
When a player comes in for a medical, what actually happens? What kind of checks take place?
Take a medical history. How many games have they played over the last two years? Any injuries? Any surgery? Anything hereditary, e.g. heart disease before the age of 40.
Examination
Blood tests
Scan all the lower limb joints, with neck and shoulders in goalkeepers
Physiological testing
Cardiac screening, ECG and echocardiogram(ultrasound of heart)
Having spent so much time with world class footballers, are you any good at football yourself?
I played a lot of football. Stopped when I was 47. Captained team at medical school.
What's the strangest injury or medical problem you've had to deal with, mentioning no names?
Intractable groin pain. Turned out to be a prostate problem.
Who seems to be the most resilient to injury, we remember Frank Lampard playing 160 consecutive games, as a midfielder that seems remarkable, what kind of effort does it take?
Impossible to say to be honest. Frank Lampard would be up there, but all players have their ups and downs.
What was it like being in and around Arsenal FC during the "unbeatable" season of 2003-04, you must have had a hand in that?I think the players are the ones who had the ‘hand’ in that. They were all ‘big’ players, with a professionalism, and will power that I have never seen, before or since. All at the peak of their careers. Oh, and talented! I got a good view from the bench....proper football.
Leading into Euro 2012, and with only Darren Bent a doubt for the Championships at the moment, do you think this is the strongest England squad available (medically)?
Hopefully. The season still has some way to go, and at this stage, a six week ankle can mean missing out. Everything crossed at the mo!
Would you agree that Harry Redknapp remains the strongest replacement for Fabio Capello?
Such a hard question. To be honest, I never get involved in speculation. I am interested of course, but purposely disconnect from this type of thing. Ask me about medicine, then OK. I know nothing of the ins and outs of manager appointments
In light of Fabrice Muamba's recent cardiac arrest, and the comments made by the likes of Roberto Mancini, do you think there are adequate resources and checks in place to deal with anything similar in the future?
We are looking at this. I think the urge is always to screen more, but the research evidence backing this up is not really there. Over the next few months, this will be looked at, but if you look at the worldwide research literature, there is no hard and fast consensus. Watch this space!
What causes the body to react like that, what actually happened?
In the absence of any muscular problem, or any electrical conduction issue, we just don’t know. Screening usually picks up any of these problems, but screening can never detect 100%. It has been publicised now that he had a normal screen in August, and a screen in the hospital last week. Both normal.
It's been great to see all the response from around the world, even recently by Barcelona and Real Madrid, it proves that there is still a large football family and its not all about business. Would you share that view as you yourself are in and around Europe a lot?
Definitely, and travelling around and bumping into players from clubs I have worked at, is always nice. I expect to see some at the EURO 2012 tournament, as well as the team staff, who we often chat with about the ongoing issues and difficulties we all share.
So there you have it, we'd like to thank once again, Dr Ian Beasley for taking time out of his hectic schedule to answer our questions and offer a great insight into the world of football behind the players.
