It has been a busy start to the season for Caley Thistle’s head of medical Dan Cluett.
Injuries of all sorts have stacked up throughout the season, even stretching back to last term when winger Tom Walsh and striker Shane Sutherland were sidelined.
In the summer, skipper Sean Welsh was raring to go, but ended up going through a knee operation.
Inverness have been without up to nine players recently and head coach Billy Dodds has guided his patched-up team to some big results, including five successive wins, four of which were away from home.
The work away from the stadium and matchdays continues at the city’s Everlast Gym at Inverness Shopping Park and the partnership has just been renewed.
Cluett was a summer signing for ICT and an important one for the Highlanders as he works daily with the squad and the gym plays a key role.
He explained how he came to move from the UK capital to the hub of the Highlands.
He said: “I am originally from Malta and I did my undergraduate course there in physiotherapy. I then moved to London to specialise in sports injuries and I worked with the Fulham Academy for a while as well.
“When Covid hit, I moved back to Malta for a couple of years before returning to London to work for a year with Barnet Football Club, and that led to this job in Inverness through common contacts.
“I knew the Highlands was a beautiful place, but I didn’t really know about Inverness.”
High pressure as injuries stack up
And Cluett stressed that not being stressed really matters as they seek to have a functional, fit pool of players ready to compete.
He said: “It’s a good job. It can be challenging sometimes, especially when the number of injuries start to go up.
“But everyone at the club is really nice and helpful. Despite the high pressure we work under, I feel everyone remains relatively calm, which allows us to work through things in a good way.
“Sometimes at football clubs, things can get a bit out of hand when results do not go your way.
“So far, things have generally been okay results-wise. Everyone here is helpful, from the top all the way down.”
Working closely with ICT squad
Cluett offered an insight into how his week pans out.
He added: “I like that no two days are the same in this job. It changes every single day.
“In general though, the first thing we do in the morning is update the manager about anything that might happened (with regards to players’ injuries) the day before or during a game.
“We then call in the injured players earlier than the rest of the team to see what our plan is going to be for the rest of the week.
“I then go out training with the team to cover the emergency medical side of things, in case any emergencies were to arise.
“We then go back and see how the guys reacted to the session, so they can get a feel for how they found it.
“We can then assess whether, for example, we are giving them too much to do, to try and avoid any overuse injuries.
“We’d then assess whether any injuries might have cropped up during the session as well.
“At the end of the day, it’s a case of giving out information to anyone who needs it that we have gathered throughout the day. That goes to the chief executive, the stakeholders and, of course, the manager.”
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Injured players get specialist help
Visits to the gym are important for those out of action as they plot their way back.
Cluett said: “We also have Becky (Mussett), who is our rehab specialist, who throughout the week when we are training comes into the gym with the injured guys.
“We agree a plan together as to what the players are going to do in the gym and Becky will supervise them doing it.
“Usually, after lunch, we meet and chat about the sessions for the next day as well as looking at a long-term approach, whether we’re going in the right direction.”
Pool useful in early rehab stages
It’s clear that detail matters when it comes to minimising the risk of repeat injuries as the players are considered individually.
Cluett added: “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we do injury prevention sessions at the gym. We will get the whole team along in the morning before they go out to training.
“The idea is we address all their past injuries and try to strengthen the areas that need to be strengthened, which will help avoid these injuries from coming back. We do that twice per week.
“It is tailored to the individual. Depending on their injury history, we create a programme for each player.
“We’re lucky because at Everlast there is everything we need in terms of gym equipment at our disposal.
“Having the use of the pool is another big part of what we access at Everlast, which is especially useful in the early stages of rehab. The helps the players get used to putting weight on the joints or muscles, so that is very useful.”
Players benefit from various facilities
Katie Taylor, assistant manager at Everlast Gym Inverness, explained the benefits the players enjoy when checking into the facilities.
She said: “We as a club are delighted to continue our partnership with ICTFC.
“We are proud to provide our facilities to aid them with their training, fitness levels, and rehabilitation.
“We have a spacious gym floor area, swimming pool, steam room, spas, and large variety of group exercise classes. The players always bring a positive atmosphere into the club and are keen to get involved with our gym floor challenges.”
Caley Thistle season ticket holders also get the opportunity to save money when joining Everlast Gym as a member.
They can join Everlast with no joining fee and will save 10% off their monthly membership by producing their season ticket and quoting their season ticket number.
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