The Physiotherapist: Seán Moran talks to Armagh's Eoghan O'Neill who believes that amateurism can be a hindrance when it comes to the treatment of players' injuries.

For anyone who's puzzled by the sort of figures that counties are spending on preparing their teams, they should drop in on an Armagh training session.

On some nights there will be two physiotherapists, a sports doctor, a masseur and a rehabilitation specialist in attendance.

The physios and masseur will be there every night. That's just the medical back-up.

Eoghan O'Neill is heading into his fourth year with Armagh. An established physio with a practice in his native Louth, he travelled to Australia last autumn in charge of the Ireland players during the International Rules series.

Among his tools Down Under was a diagnostic and treatment device whose European availability at the time was restricted to the Armagh team and Chelsea soccer club.

His private practice is spread between Carlingford, Blackrock and home on the Cooley peninsula but by his own admission, the Ulster champions consume the bulk of his working week with at least four contacts a day - whether consultation or treatment - and more during the championship season.

"At least 50 per cent of my time is tied up working for Armagh - to fully satisfy the requirements of the intercounty players. Any player who contacts me I'll definitely accommodate within 24 hours and mostly within 12."

He sees demand for his services as symptomatic of changed priorities within football.

"The top counties have realised that too much attention has been paid to preparation as being about enhanced performance rather than enhanced medical care."

With the introduction of the qualifier format, the summer is now longer for the more successful counties whereas the calendar-year National Leagues mean more sustained activity in a comparatively short period of time between February and March.

O'Neill says that damage to the knee, specifically the cruciate ligament, remains a high-incidence trauma injury in football because of the "jumping, landing and twisting" involved in the game but that the nature of treatment is also changing. "What we're seeing are more complicated injuries, more complex back and groin injuries.

"The GAA has to look at setting up a board of medical practitioners and physiotherapists to get their ideas on helping prolong careers. Professor Niall Moyna in DCU refers to the problem of "chronic overload causing chronic overuse injuries" and that's an obvious area that needs addressing."

In the midst of the professionalism that surrounds the preparation of teams and the treatment of their injuries, the amateurism of the players can be seen as anomalous and in the view of O'Neill is a hindrance when it comes to injury.

"We have to bear in mind that our players have jobs that mean they can't commit full-time to recovering from an injury. Cruciates can now be fixed in five months thanks to accelerated programmes developed in Australia and professional levels of care - both in terms of remedial supervision and the investment of time by the patient.

"Compare intercounty players with someone like my friend and neighbour Robert Kearney (the emerging Leinster rugby wing and Ireland panellist) and the rest he can avail of in order to pursue his sport rested.

"GAA players are going to work under stress, coming home needing sleep and then driving from Dublin for training, finishing at 10.30 at night and then going back to Dublin - and that cycle can run from January to December."

On top of that there is a cultural factor within Gaelic games that can militate against best practice in the treatment of injuries.

"When a player's injured at Old Trafford, he gets an MRI scan and it's announced within 24 hours that he'll be out for four weeks - he will be out for four weeks.

"When the same thing happens at Croke Park and a player has a championship match in two weeks, there'll be immediate pressure for him to get back in time - and that's not from management.

"In all the time I've dealt with him, Joe Kernan has always looked first towards the best long-term interests of players.

"I treat injured players in professional sports and their attitude is far more that they're getting paid anyway and need to look after themselves because their sport is a livelihood that they want to keep going for another 10 years.

"GAA fellas have a raw passion and pride and tend to see everything in the here and now. That's wonderful in some ways but the downside is that it can lead to foolish decisions."

O'Neill doesn't appear concerned about his practice's significant dependence on the Armagh footballers.

"I've played football up to minor intercounty level and this is a labour of love even though it involves cold, clinical decisions. But my profile is enhanced by the association with Armagh and hopefully, Armagh is enhanced medically by the same association."