This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-02-10 13:31:27+00:00.
Original Title: Rio Ferdinand. ‘I’ve got injuries that I had from my career… I was on tablets and injections for six years to play games. That’s affected me. I get some bad moments of back pain where I have to be in a hospital for a couple of days or in a wheelchair for a couple of days.”
‘I’ve had a bad back for a long time,’ says Ferdinand. ‘I’ve got injuries that I had from my career… I was on tablets and injections for six years to play games. That’s affected me. I get some bad moments of back pain where I have to be in a hospital for a couple of days or in a wheelchair for a couple of days. It’s mad, but it just comes out of nowhere.
‘Since I’ve been in Dubai, I’ve been seeing a physio for the first time since I retired. He’s been doing loads of manipulations and whatnot, and within his building there’s also my personal trainer, so he feeds him information about my training. There’s a holistic approach to what I’m doing now and hopefully that’s going to put me in good stead. Rather than fixing when it’s broken, you actually prevent [injuries].’
In total, Ferdinand says he is now more educated and knowledgeable about his body – the kind of things that work and what doesn’t – than he was during his playing days. ‘I know my shit now,’ he laughs. ‘But I’m 47 years old. It took me all that time.’