Dr Con Murphy can’t see any way back for Chelsea doc

Long serving Cork GAA medic Dr Con Murphy has revealed that in almost 40 years he’s never once been ordered by a manager to withhold treatment from a player.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho slammed team doctor Eva Carneiro as ‘naive’ for rushing on to treat play maker Eden Hazard at a crucial stage late in last weekend’s disappointing draw with Swansea.

The Premier League holders were momentarily reduced to nine men because goalkeeper Thibaut Courtouis had already been sent off and Mourinho claimed his medics didn’t ‘understand the game’.

Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn have reportedly been downgraded from their usual match day roles for tomorrow’s showdown with title rivals Manchester City.

Dr Con believes Carneiro’s position at Chelsea is now ‘untenable’ given the crucial breakdown in trust between her and Mourinho.

“There’s a very good relationship between managers and medical staff within the GAA, I think they have a really good balance on this,” he said. “In all my time with Cork teams, no manager has ever tried to twist my arm or suggest that a player doesn’t receive treatment because it’s a tight game or whatever. I think it’s going to be very interesting now to see how Mourinho handles the Chelsea situation. The lady is obviously very popular at the club. He was 100% wrong. I could see the Chelsea fans turning on him to a degree.

“I think he just made an error of judgement in overreacting to a bad result, he blamed the first person that came into his head.

“It’s unfortunate for her because I don’t see her position as being tenable going forward. Their relationship is based completely on trust and if the trust is broken I don’t see how it can continue.” Dr Con said the one change he has noticed with regard to medical treatment of GAA players over the years is that there is more of it, suggesting that’s not necessarily a positive development.

“I think there’s a general tendency to come in quicker now,” he explained. “I think we’d want to be conscious of what we stop play for. Obviously, head injuries and blood injuries are a totally different thing but I see it an awful lot that referees will stop a game for a player to tie his laces.

“I’m involved with Cork since 1976 and I’d say it was easily my 10th or 12th visit to Croke Park before I actually came onto the field of play to treat someone and I was the only medical person with the team.

“That’s definitely one thing we’re seeing over the years, people are coming in quicker now, in all sports.

“Sometimes I think it’s overdone.”