It is a fairly common characteristic of most football supporters to expect our heroes to run through proverbial brick walls for the shirt they are privileged to wear.
It comes more naturally to some than others but as a general rule we demand those who get to live out our dreams, while getting paid handsomely to do so, put their bodies on the line, strain every sinew and push themselves through and beyond the pain barrier again and again without ever really appreciating the toll it can take.
There is more of an awareness now of the damage caused by the cortisone injections many players of the 1960s and 70s used to regularly take to get them through games, with many suffering severe mobility problems in retirement as a result, but there is perhaps a misguided perception that in the modern game with all the sports science and top-level medical expertise involved that players can now continually smash through their physical limits without consequence.
