Why van Persie is having horse placenta massages

It's a far cry from the magic sponge which used to make up the entire armoury of a football physio's kit bag. Robin van Persie, Arsenal's explosive striker who was crocked in an international match between Holland and Italy at the weekend, is to be treated by a Serbian alternative therapist who will massage placental fluid from a horse into his injured ankle. Needless to say, the news has provoked intense interest and many jokey headlines in the tabloids.

Yet it turns out that van Persie is merely treading a well-worn path to the door of Belgrade physiotherapist Mariana Kovacevic. Such is the radical therapist's fame in the close-knit world of football, she has already treated at least five Premier League footballers for a range of afflictions.

The Arsenal striker, told he could be out of action for four to six weeks, was turned onto Kovacevic by a national teammate who swore to the miraculous powers of her healing hands.

Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong of Manchester City have all been to see Kovacevic - indeed such is the regard in which she is held by the Mancunians that the club flew her over earlier this month and explored the possibility of her joining their medical staff. She declined.

According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool's pair of hamstrung midfielders Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun have both been to Belgrade to be treated in the last few days, and the Dutch international Orlando Engelaar found out about the therapist from his Serbian teammate at PSV Eindhoven, striker Danko Lazovic.

What Kovacevic actually does to the players once they're flat out on the treatment table in front of her is a closely guarded secret. "I am going to receive treatment from a female doctor," van Persie announced earlier this week. "She is vague about her methods but I know she first massages you for a long time with placenta fluid. I'm going to give it a try. It can't do any harm and if it helps it helps."

Kovacevic has become so successful has that she is now represented by Star Management Signings, a pan-European agency. Star’s spokesman Zoran Krneta told reporters: "Mariana used to treat people in her spare time, but it has started spiralling out of control. She is quite secretive about it, but the three main elements are massage, the liquid and maybe a little bit of psychology. I'm not sure how much percentage applies to each, but it is effective.

"She receives people in her home, and though there has been some scepticism, she is schooled in physiotherapy. That has always been the essence of her work."

As Jamie Redknapp reveals today in his column in the Mail, footballers have always been desperate to chase any miracle cure that can help prolong their careers: "I had a passport stamped with unlikely destinations that were filled with promises. I went to France, where I travelled with a knee injury and the osteopath wanted to take my wisdom teeth out. Apparently, it is to do with clear pathways around your body. I went to Germany to see Hans Muller-Wohlfahrt, who specialises in injecting extracts of cockerel crest into your knee."

Redknapp concludes: "Instead of sitting around and waiting for the injury to heal, seeing different physios, medics and healers at least makes you feel as if you are being proactive. In that respect, it's good for the mind... even if it doesn't always help the injury."