In the wake of Fabrice Muamba’s heart attack, Roberto Mancini has urged the Premier League to mirror Serie A’s stringency for checking player fitness.
In the wake of Fabrice Muamba’s heart attack, Roberto Mancini has urged the Premier League to mirror Serie A’s stringency for checking player fitness.
Bolton midfielder Muamba needed CPR and the use of a defibrillator after suffering cardiac arrest during his side’s FA Cup game at Tottenham on Saturday evening. The player’s condition has improved, but he remains in intensive care at a London hospital.
The Premier League have announced in the wake of this incident that it will review its medical procedures, something that Manchester City Coach Mancini says he recognised as necessary when he first arrived in the country.
“When I arrived two years ago I was worried by the medical [procedures] in [the UK]. I said we need to do them better. We need to improve the medical side for the players.
“It's better in Italy. We need to screen the players often, maybe two times a year, and they have to be more accurate.
“What happened to Muamba can happen and that should be impossible.”
In Italy, players undergo detailed cardiac monitoring on a regular basis in a process that begins at youth level.