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Mesut Ozil back injury update: ‘Fortnite’ blamed for midfielder’s absence

Rishabh Gupta
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Mesut Ozil back injury update

Mesut Ozil back injury update: The former German international is yet to fully recover from back injury.

The 30-year old midfielder has not played for Arsenal since the end of the international break last month. After being benched for the game against Bournemouth, Ozil missed the subsequent matches due to back spasms.

The midfielder trained ahead of the Huddersfield clash, but failed to attain match fitness. Last night, it was reported that Ozil wants to leave Arsenal in January, with Inter Milan favourites to sign him.

Ozil has previously missed Arsenal’s game against Fulham due to a similar injury in October earlier this season.

However, German outlet Bild has reported that Ozil’s back injury might be related to his gaming addiction. The midfielder is a regular ‘Fortnite’ gamer, and often streams his gameplay online.

Mesut Ozil back injury update:

A website called ‘Wasted on Fortnite’ reports that Mesut Ozil has played 5,221 matches in the video-game so far, which equals to 72 days-worth of time.

A German sports physician has now stated that the video game could be the reason behind Ozil’s persisting back issues.


Ingo Frobose, a professor for Prevention and Rehabilitation in Sport at the German Sports University in Cologne has claimed that Ozil’s aggravating back issues could be due to his video game addiction.

“Yes, that (Fortnite) can be the cause of Ozil’s back problems,” Frobose told German outlet BILD. “A competitive athlete feels the consequences of hours of inactivity much faster than a non-athlete.

He added that Ozil’s problems are aggravated because of his intense training routine.

“This is because Ozil’s physical structures are highly tuned due to his intense training. A non-athlete, however, does not notice that,” Frobose stated.

The physician insisted that hours of inactivity could have adverse impact on a professional athlete.

What next?

Arsenal will return to action on Thursday, as they take on Qarabag in their final group game of the Europa League. The Gunners have already qualified for the round-of-32 of the Europa League.

Unai Emery’s side is currently 5th in the Premier League, but level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea as Torreira’s incredible bicycle kick secured three points for Arsenal against Huddersfield last weekend.

About the author

Rishabh Gupta

Rishabh Gupta

A sports enthusiast. Sports, I believe, is one of the few powers which help us grow, both as an individual and society. With each day, in the rich world of sports, I grow.

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