Kompany’s secret lab: Bayern uses new method to prevent injuries | OneFootball

BILD has uncovered an unusual detail in FC Bayern’s training sessions – and it shows how meticulously Vincent Kompany is currently working. The Munich stars have been wearing skin-coloured plasters on their earlobes for weeks. What’s behind it? A sophisticated blood analysis system that helps Bayern to detect and avoid injuries at an early stage.

Anyone who has watched the training sessions at Säbener Straße in recent weeks is likely to have noticed a new, inconspicuous detail: skin-colored plasters on the earlobes of numerous Bayern professionals. BILD has now revealed why the Munich team has resorted to this method – and how far Kompany’s team has gone in terms of stress management.

Small amounts of blood are taken from the players before almost every training session. The purpose: Bayern want to continuously monitor lactate and CK (creatine kinase) levels – two crucial parameters for controlling physical stress. While lactate allows conclusions to be drawn about endurance and metabolic stress, CK is a key marker for muscular damage. An elevated CK value is considered an early warning signal for impending injuries.

Efficient risk management – hardly any muscle injuries at FC Bayern

The Bayern coaches can use these values to design individually tailored sessions. If there is a risk of overloading, the workload is immediately reduced to prevent muscular problems. The system is not new – CK values were already measured regularly under Thomas Tuchel – but Kompany is apparently using the procedure more consistently and with greater frequency.

The success speaks for itself: FC Bayern has hardly had any muscle injuries this season. Not a single FCB star is currently missing due to a muscular problem – a remarkable state of affairs, especially in view of the past few years. The focus is clear: a season like last year, when Bayern had to play the Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan without half of its regular squad, should not be repeated.

The „ear prick method“ offers one advantage: it is quick, efficient and hardly stressful. The data ends up directly in the analysis system of the medical department and enables precise control of the load – and thus a lower risk of injury.

Long-term injuries are also benefiting from the current recovery program. Jamal Musiala, who was out of action for a long time after breaking his fibula and suffering several ligament injuries, is already working intensively on the pitch again. Alphonso Davies (cruciate ligament rupture) and Hiroki Ito (metatarsal fracture) are even completing parts of team training.