Paulo Dybala has visited Lionel Messi’s herbalist physio in an attempt to recover from injury in time to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League round of 16.
The Juventus forward, who is seen by many as a potential heir to Messi in Barcelona, flew to Venice to engage the services of Giuliano Poser, a physio and kinesiologist credited with helping Messi change his diet and resolve lingering injury issues.
Poser is seen as something of an eccentric in the sports nutrition world, but the results he has achieved with a number of high-level footballers who travel to the small town of Sacile to seek out his advice – which centres around eating only what the body needs, not what it wants – have indubitably been a success.
“Vegetables, seasonal fruits and a good mineral water are essential fuels for our muscles. You have to reduce the intake of processed foods or foods contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, medications...” Poser says, and his approach is combined with more abstract ideas such as emotional work, psychotherapy and Bach Flower remedies.
Poser’s success with Messi has been a long-term one but for Dybala the focus is more immediate, and finding a way to be fit in time to face Spurs in Turin on February 13th.
Dybala is Juventus’ top scorer with 14 Serie A goals this season but went off injured in Sardinia during Juve’s first game of 2018 against Cagliari.
The 24-year-old striker, who is expected to fetch north of £100m when he eventually leaves the Italian giants, was diagnosed with a thigh strain that was expected to keep him out for “30-40 days” – a time period that immediately put his participation against Spurs into doubt.
Juan Cuadrado, formerly of Chelsea, faces a decision over groin surgery this week and would be out of the round-of-16 tie with Tottenham should he go under the knife.
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