Edwards was appointed as Boro’s new head coach last week, replacing Michael Carrick, whose attempts to guide the Teessiders to promotion last season were hampered by a succession of injury problems.
The likes of Luke Ayling, Dael Fry, Riley McGree and Marcus Forss missed huge chunks of the season with long-term, recurring injury issues, while Alex Bangura and Darragh Lenihan did not kick a ball all campaign because of their respective injury problems. Boro also lost two senior goalkeepers, Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn, to injury lay-offs and saw Ben Doak’s loan from Liverpool prematurely ended when the winger was forced to undergo thigh surgery.
Boro’s post-season review focused heavily on injury prevention and a treatment, and some changes are anticipated behind the scenes. Ultimately, though, Edwards and his coaches will play the decisive role in determining what is asked of players in training and matches, and the newly-appointed boss admits he cannot afford to have so many of his key performers in the treatment room again next term.
“I think it’s across the board,” said Edwards. “I wouldn’t just say it’s a Middlesbrough problem. There are more injuries, and more serious injuries, happening at the moment.
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“I think that’s just how the game is going. It’s not necessarily that teams are covering more distance now than they were 20 years ago, but the game is certainly a lot quicker with a lot higher intensity. We know that.
“I think the best way to be prepared for that is that we’re part of a team – we’ve got brilliant people in the sports science department, so we can make sure we’re aligned and make sure we’re not over-cooking or under-cooking people because both can be damaging.”
Boro’s post-season review looked at the training and matchday loads players were being subjected to last season, and there is clearly a need to strike the correct balance between ensuring players are kept match-fit at Rockliffe Park but not subjecting them to an overly-heavy schedule that might place them at risk of breaking down.
Similarly, with the Championship fixture list placing big demands on players, it is important to rest and rotate when needed to give key performers the best possible chance of staying fit all season.
“We have to be able to train the way we play,” said Edwards. “The players have to be able to experience that and feel that during the week.
“We have to do that without breaking people. One or two might break a bit early on, we’ll have to see, but we have to get to a point where the training is more difficult than the game is, and we want the game to be intense.
“As part of a team, we have to make sure that we’re looking after every individual, but pushing them hard as well. Not to the point where we’re breaking them, but not under-cooking them either.”
Managing workload at the training ground is part of that process, but Edwards intends to adopt a holistic approach to ensuring that his players are in the best possible shape come a matchday.
He intends to work closely with key department heads to create a strong sense of alignment between the first-team coaching group and other areas such as sports science, nutrition, data analysis and strength and conditioning.
“We’ve got to get people into that sweet spot,” he said. “There’s so much to that now – your diet, your sleep, your recovery. All of that comes into it.
“We’re in a game now where the game has got so ultra-professional that even when the players leave the training ground, they’ve got to make sure they are living like an elite athlete.”
