In this episode of the Women’s Football Hub Podcast, Carolyn Kent sits down with Andrew Mitchell, an experienced sports physiotherapist who has worked with RB Leipzig and co-authored the 2024 paper A Return to Performance Pathway for Professional Soccer: A Criteria-Based Approach.

Together, they explore the full rehabilitation journey: from the first 24–48 hours post-injury through gym-based phases, running criteria, and high-speed return-to-play drills. Andrew also explains why return to performance is not the same as return to play, and how criteria-based progression can take the guesswork out of rehab.

Listeners will learn about:

• Diagnosis and planning in the acute phase

• Supplementary criteria for safe progression

• Gym phase 1 (foundations) and gym phase 2 (reconditioning)

• Return-to-running benchmarks

• How to adapt elite protocols to resource-limited settings

• The critical role of trust, communication, and psychological readiness

This episode is essential listening for physiotherapists, coaches, and practitioners supporting injured players on their journey back to performance.

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