Passionate Ahly supporters beg Pitso to intervene

Pitso Mosimane received probably the ultimate stamp of approval from Al Ahly fans this week when they implored him to seriously revamp their medical team which they blame for their daily growing list of injured players ahead of the African Champions League semi-final tie against Wydad Casablanca.

The casualty list increased last week when number one goalkeeper Mohammed El-Shennawi had to be withdrawn against Arab Contractors and there is growing concern all round as the “Red Devils” want to lay their hands on Africa’s premier club championship which they have failed to win in six years.

Mosimane himself expressed concern on arrival about the casualty list, accepting that while he wants to look deeper into the causes of injuries to players, he is forced to rotate his players in order to balance the team and avoid further injuries.

“I want to share with you a very important point and general problem that we Al Ahly fans have been complaining to management about for many years and we want to notify Coach Pitso to take care of the problem because we want him to be aware of what is the problem with Ahly,” said a staunch supporter known by www.thomaskwenaite.co.za but who requested anonymity.

“We have been complaining for many years about the medical department as well as the rehabilitation and the physiotherapy of players which seems inadequate and not up to standard.

“A lot of players are getting injured and they take far too long to heal and recover and it is costing us millions of dollars. In addition, we are not benefitting from these injured players as they are supposed to be helping the team but they are increasingly sitting in the casualty ward receiving never-ending treatment.

“Mind you it is not a recent problem but an old one. The board of directors trust an obsolete doctor and a poor physiotherapists who don’t properly rehabilitate the injuries in time, the (injuries) keep occurring over and over again and again.

“An example is Kareem Nedved our midfielder who has been undergoing “treatment” now for 18-months without any encouraging sign that he is getting better simply because of a misdiagnosis and an operation that was botched up in Germany with very poor post-operative rehabilitation.

“Also recently our promising midfielder – Mohamed Mahmoud – who underwent two Anterior Cruciate Ligament surgeries within one year (you can imagine) underwent a third surgery on his knee because of poor rehabilitation.”

The team is also missing several key players with the likes of defenders Rami Rabia, Ayman Ashraf, Al Sulala, Hamdi Fathy, Mahmoud Kahraba, Mahmoud Metwalli and midfielders Mohamed Mahmoud and Kareem “Nedved” Walid all side-lined by an assortment of injuries.

“This issue is very important and deeply worrying to us and it’s a must for Coach Pitso to change all this nonsense. We ask for a professional medical staff to be employed and believe me we have many brilliant and highly qualified professionals in Egypt.

“Thank you for listening and kindly send him this message. We want him to success (sic) and we stand fully behind him. You know that the team is an open book to me. Fans are extremely annoying (sic) because of this headache and asking him to intervene.”

The crisis has been brought to Mosimane’s attention and he is said to have also pinpointed the issue which is like an achilles heel and fervently working on implementing a proper rehabilitation programme of Al Ahly players and the employment of Kabelo Rangoaga, a qualified fitness coach blessed with regenerating skills, could be what the doctor ordered for long suffering Ahly fans.