Des is Director of Sport and Physical Wellbeing at the University of Galway in Ireland, where he leads the strategic development and management of the university’s sports programs and facilities. Prior to joining the University, he spent nine years as Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Development at the Arsenal Football Club Academy. Prior to that, he was Head of Strength and Conditioning at Connacht Rugby and Fitness Education Manager at the Irish Rugby Football Union. Des also worked as a consultant for World Rugby, Brentford FC Academy, and the National Cricket Academy in India.

Dr Konrad Kozlowski is a recent graduate of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. He is also an athlete himself; he’s played tennis competitively since 5 years old and has competed in the NCAA Championships. He has a keen interest in sports medicine and was the lead author of the paper we will be discussing today on facial fractures in professional footballers.

Peter Rosston is a PhD candidate in medicinal chemistry at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His interests include clinical medicine and its intersection with sport. He is an avid fan and follower of football and played it in high school. He is the second author of the paper we will be discussing.

Dr Dan Fitzpatrick is a registrar in Sports and Exercise Medicine in the London Deanery and is based at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health. He has worked in elite football, rugby and marathon running. He has a particular interest in heat illness.

Dr Richard Porter currently works as a Specialty Doctor in Rheumatology and Acute Medicine within the Manchester Foundation Trust. 

Outside of his NHS work, he is a Sports Medicine Doctor for Return2Play and an Independent Match Day Doctor with Premier League Rugby. 

He also has roles with the England Para-football and Deaf Men’s Squads and is part of the examination panel for the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine.  

Richard recently authored a pivotal piece in the Football Medicine and Performance Association Magazine, shedding light on a topic that has flown under the radar for far too long: the prescribing trends and practices within elite football. In this episode, we’ll explore what the findings mean for footballers, medical teams, and the future of medication governance in elite sport.

• Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Dr Saul Konviser is a General Dentist with a special interest in Sports Dentistry based in London, working to promote oral health amongst the sporting community, having worked with a broad range of elite athletes across football, boxing, rugby and athletics.

• He has a master’s degree in International Health Policy from the London School of Economics and also a BSc in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of the West of England, Bristol.

• Saul is no stranger to the podcast series, featuring back in 2022 when we explored the growing field of sports dentistry and the implications for oral health care on training and performance.

Interviewed by Dr Daire Rooney

Dave Fevre is a physiotherapist who has worked at the top level of English Football for the last three decades, notably with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Chelsea and Leicester. David has been at the forefront of sports injury rehabilitation, performance optimisation, and return-to-play protocols at the highest level.

More recently, he is working as a freelance clinician and lecturer in physiotherapy and sports injury rehabilitation.

He has consultancy roles with several European, Premiership, WSL, Championship and EFL football clubs and is on the teaching faculty for both the Football Association (FA) and Rugby Football League (RFL).

Steve is a pharmacist with a specialist expertise in medicines management within sport. He advises doctors and therapists working in sport to help achieve standards of good practice and regulatory compliance around medicines handling.

He was a member of the Pharmacy Services Planning Group for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is a member of the Clinical Governance Committee for British Cycling.

Steve is also the managing director for MedsOnTrack, a medication recording system used by a variety of elite sport teams globally.

Interviewed be Dr Eleanor Trezise

• Dr Iñigo Sarriegui is the Men’s First Team doctor at Premier League football club Southampton FC. He is also the Chief Medical Officer for Wheelchair Fencing and has previously worked in elite cycling.

• Ifan Jones is a medical student who recently completed his 3rd year of studies and he is currently working as an intern in Southampton FC’s Sports Medicine and Science department.

Dr Schulz is a physiotherapist and postdoctoral fellow at Western University and the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine centre in Canada. She conducts research focused on female athlete health across the lifespan. Her expertise lies in many areas related to this, including pregnancy and postpartum return to sport. She's also a keen sportswoman herself; she's a competitive cross country, track and field runner.

Links -> https://www.fmpa.co.uk/podcasts/back-in-the-game-navigating-football-after-pregnancy/

Dr Fearghal Kerin is a physiotherapist who has worked at the highest level in both rugby and football, including roles with Leinster Rugby and more recently, Chelsea Football Club. Fearghal has built a reputation as one of the most respected practitioners in the rehabilitation of hamstring injuries within elite sport and is widely published in the area. In the last year, he has also completed a PhD from University College Dublin, where his research focused on hamstring injuries in professional rugby. 

Fearghal is the founder of Kerin Performance, a service providing tailored support and practical advice to teams and clinicians for complex rehabilitation cases.