Injury Update on the Women’s Team

Following a series of test performed at the Frieburg private hospital in Germany, doctors recommended Silvia Stroescu should stop training for the next six months. “From what I understood, she has some problems with her back, in part, due to the fact that she’s still growing,” said Marius Urzică. The Olympic champion on pommel horse has been in Germany with Silvia Stroescu and federal coach Mircea Apolzan since Friday for medical tests and treatment.
“This isn’t too serious. However, the [German] doctors recommended that Silvia should take a fairly long break, during which she should only be allowed to do rehab and warm-up exercises,” added RGF President Nicolae Vieru.

A former Junior European champion Silvia Stroescu is 5 ft tall (152cm) which makes her the tallest member of the national team. She replaced Maria Olaru [as the tallest team member], who repeatedly said that the extra inches she had on her teammates hindered her during routines and resulted in added stress on her back. Silvia Stroescu first started experiencing back pains after a competition in Marseille, France at the end of November. She’s been on an extended break ever since.

Since the end of December, three other Deva gymnasts have been forced to stop training due to injuries. Carmen Ionescu has to undergo arthroscopic surgery on her right knee after an MRI revealed bone chips around the knee cartilage. She’s been staying with her family in Bucharest ever since. "Carmen will be back at Deva on Friday and she’ll resume full-time training,” said assistant coach Mariana Bitang.

Sabina Cojocar, who underwent shoulder surgery at the same time as Ionescu will take another month before returning to the gym. “Obviously, we won’t hang her on the nearest available uneven bars, but she’ll definitely do three events. We hope to get rid of her extra pounds, too”, added Bitang.

Loredana Boboc, who’s been bothered by her right ankle took a couple of days off at the end of last year. She spent a week in Bucharest running between the two major hospitals in the capital. She had MRIs done and consulted with doctors at the Emergency Hospital and foot injury specialists. The final diagnosis was stress fracture of the metatarusus bones and fluid accumulation in her Achilles’ tendon. She expects to spend the next six months going to physiotherapy sessions. Loredana was scheduled to undergo another test today which would determine how long she will be sidelined by her injuries..

“ A 7-deay break means it will take at least 3-4 months to get back to full strength. The girls are still dealing with puberty. They gain weight easily and then their center of gravity changes. When we refuse to give them time off, we don’t do it because we’re crazy,” explained Mariana Bitang. She added that Andreea Răducan and Andreea Ulmeanu have the best chance of making the 2002 Europeans team.

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