Dr. Dittmar on preparations for the league restart

…the current physical condition of the Werkself players: With the exception of the injured players, who are in rehab but all making progress, all the players and staff are healthy and in good spirits. And Kevin Volland is also very much on the right track. I hope the ankle injury comes at the time in the season where there are the fewest games to be missed.

…the preparations at Bayer 04 for a possible restart of the Bundesliga in May: First of all, we have to wait for decisions and recommendations of the DFL and DFB task force. At the DFL general meeting of the clubs on Thursday, it will be important to go forward together. It is clear: At Bayer 04, we are prepared for all possible scenarios and we are very well positioned as we have been actively dealing with the subject of pandemics for a long time. I’m very certain that we, as a club, will be able to implement all the guidelines within a few hours. From a medical point of view, it’s definitely possible to play the next game on Saturday.

…the 20,000 coronavirus tests required to restart the Bundesliga: At the moment, every necessary coronavirus test can be carried out with any problems. The laboratories have excess capacity. If we maintain the current testing plan, the required number of tests for professional football is in a rapidly dwindling range. As things stand, in spite of the capacity for the Bundesliga, all people can be tested who need it. The testing for the league would be very easy to organise and carry out by very few people. The whole thing is more of a logistical issue. And I can tell you that laboratory companies are masters of logistics.

…the consequences of a player being infected in the current season: I believe a key element of our discussion has to be whether and how contacts will be isolated in the future. It could be a problem if those of us involved in football have to adhere to the current provisions. At the same time, I have the impression that people in sport and later the population as a whole will change within the foreseeable future from putting infected people in quarantine for 14 days. If we only isolate the sick people and not the contacts as well, then our proposal is realistic.

…ensuing costs for the clubs through regular testing: Some 50 people per team have to be tested per matchday. A test costs between 100 and a maximum of 150 euros.

…his prediction for the future: We’re making the best of this situation and I’m confident we’ll succeed. Because the virus is behaving to a great extent as the experts have predicted. The point in time matches start again will definitely be a well chosen one. Also because the clubs, who haven’t been involved in the subject of pandemics like we have for years, had enough time to prepare well for the challenges.

About Dr. Karl-Heinrich Dittmar:
Dr. Dittmar has worked for Bayer 04 since 2002 and for many years has been in charge of the medical department. In addition there are the disciplines of orthopaedics, sports science, athletics, rehab therapy/Bayer 04 Werkstatt, sports psychology and physiotherapy. During the modernisation of the BayArena in 2009, Dr. Dittmar played a significant role in planning and equipping of the medical section. The ‘Werkstatt’, integrated into the stadium, with its high-tech equipment, hypoxic and cold chambers and anti-gravity treadmills has set standards in the field of sports medical care of professional athletes. Dr. Dittmar has been the medical director at Bayer 04 since July 2019.