no muscle injury is bad luck. it happens for a reason, whether thats fatigue, overloading, weak muscle, tight muscle, a muscle that is overcompensating for a another muscle thats not working as well etc
the only injuries that are bad luck/chance are the likes of betos on sunday that come from collisions. even then one could argue that’s the risk of challenging for a ball
but yeah, hamstrings don’t just pop for no reason. i learnt this the hard way.
craig bellamy had hamstring injuries all through his early career but managed to curb them under the guidance of Steve Fudge who was the S&C coach at City under Mark Hughes
he set up a training plan that involved bellamy training predominantly as a footballer who sprints, rather than as a footballer who runs 10k a game, if that makes sense
gone was the heavy cardio work and volume, instead he trained to sprint and recover. i think his minutes were managed too, he was no longer a 90 minute player. but he got a good few more years and at times produced the best football of his career
Fudge went on to coach the likes of James Dasaolu and Adam Gemili, who had injury problems of their own, to run sub 10 second 100m times when he switched to coaching in track and field
Branthwaite will need someone just as smart looking after him now
