Sunday Mercury - WOLVES midfielder Dave Edwards is feeling like a deep sea scuba diver as he speeds up his recovery from injury by turning to revolutionary technology.The Welsh international midfielder is undergoing Hyperbaric oxygen therapy which means sitting in a tank whilst oxygen is pumped in at a higher than atmospheric pressure.
The system is already having a major impact in healing his torn thigh muscle and could mean him returning in time for key derbies against Blues and Albion.
“It was an idea that the physios brought to me which can only help me recover,” he said.
“I thought it was a good option to take.
“It used to be just a little bit of ice spray and that would do. The equipment our medical staff have here now is absolutely second to none.”
Edwards sits in the chamber, based in Tettenhall, every day for 90 minutes.
“I put on a mask and get oxygen pumped into my body to help the red blood cells,” he revealed.
“The chamber pressurises the air to make you feel as if you are 33 feet under water. At that depth apparently the blood cells can help the muscle recover quicker.
“It can get a bit boring as there’s no electrical equipment allowed. So I take in a newspaper to try and pass the time.”
Edwards injured his thigh in the opening minutes of the Premier League clash against Arsenal 18 days ago.
“I went for a scan and there was quite a big tear on my quadricep,” he said.
“The doctor said it was usually about six weeks for a tear like that to heal, so obviously with the chamber and the treatment I’m getting from the physios I am looking to reduce that and aim more for three to four weeks.
“I definitely feel an improvement. I’m starting to reap the benefits. It helps when I do my weights, you don’t feel as stiff the next day. It helps the body recover.
“I’ve been getting scanned every three or four days and you can see the tear gradually disappearing.”
It’s not the first time Edwards has resorted to extreme measures to get fit. During a pre-season tour to Ireland he took ice therapy along with Michael Kightly.
“We went into three rooms which were decreasing in temperature. They were very, very cold!” he recalls.
“We are in a great era where we have these sorts of things.”
But Edwards insists he won’t be taking any risks with his recovery by returning to action too soon.
“I obviously won’t go back into training until it is right. It has to be 100 per cent before I go back. There’s no way I can take any risks, I don’t want to do anything to it again.”
The 24-year-old was enjoying arguably his best form in the Premier League when the muscle tore.
Now he has set his sights on those crucial clashes with Wolves’ local rivals.
“I don’t want to miss any games of football and the big derby games are the ones that you want to be involved in,” he said.
“If I can get back for them it will be great. Obviously it would be nice to try to get back into the fold as well and to help us pick up some points.”
For Edwards the frustration has been even more acute after he was forced to miss most of the latter half of last season with an ankle injury picked up at Tottenham.
“I was out for four months. I got back for the last month of the season and played three or four games without ever really getting back to my best.
“This was the first time since that injury that I felt I was hitting top form again,” he went on. “That’s why it is such a shame.
“I have been unlucky with injuries over the last 12 months. It is something that has never bothered me in my career before,” he said.
“I have been very, very lucky with injuries. I have very rarely been out.
“Over the last 12 months in terms of getting injured it has been ‘my time’. Hopefully I can get over it.
“When I was in the team I played seven or eight games on the bounce, and I was starting to feel really good again. It is just a shame that this happened.
“Hopefully it is just a minor setback and I can get back in the team and start progressing.
“But there is nothing I can do now apart from work hard to get back and then try to keep my form going.”
To make matters worse Edwards admits he is not the best spectator.
“It is one of the worst times as a footballer, watching from the sidelines when you could be playing,” he said
by Bill Howell,
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