When Manish Dangi fell down and the players started to summon the medical team on Saturday against Chyasal, everything else came to a standstill. Some of us sweatily had flashbacks of another incident of not more than seven months ago when Christian Eriksen collapsed down in Copenhagen. One man was at the forefront at the Dasharath Stadium, trying to stabilize the situation and keep the 20-year-old’s health from deteriorating, Suraj Bhusal, the Machhindra FC physiotherapist.

The tests done after Manish was ambulance off the field came out normal. Manish was already stable on the field after suffering a concussion injury after a collision with Chyasal player Yanick Kuerte and hitting his head to the ground. Suraj told GoalNepal in an interview that Manish was kept at the medical facility for 24 hours with minimal oxygen support and antibiotics before being transferred to a regular cabin at the hospital.

When Manish was lying on the ground after the collision, Suraj emphasized the quick reaction on the field and the activity of two foreign players, Andreas Nia and Yanick. Manish's tongue was kept in his mouth by the foreign duo, and Manish's air passage was kept open so that he could breathe properly. Only seconds after the incident, referee Shyam Danuwar summoned the medical team, but Suraj claims he didn't wait for the referee's signal to enter the field. It was more than a few permissions and referee's decisions for Suraj. He began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Manish right away.

Manish regained consciousness about 4-5 minutes later, but Suraj claims he made a sad observation on the field. According to Bhusal, who has previously worked as a physiotherapist with the Nepal national team, the way Nepali players reacted in that instance and only tried to summon medical assistance is a sad sight to behold. "Nepali players have no idea what to do in such situations, how to assist their teammates, or how to react. They were completely unaware of the situation", Bhusal stated. "We'll have to deal with this situation in the future to get them to understand these issues."

Following the incident, ANFA has been heavily chastised for not having a doctor on the field. When asked if there was a doctor on the field, Bhusal said it wasn't necessary for him to know who was on the field being a club physiotherapist. He should be commended for not waiting for someone else to do the job and instead focusing solely on rescuing Manish.

Despite the investigation, it is still unknown whether a doctor was present on the field at the time of the incident. Suraj, on the other hand, believes that any sporting event, whether football, cricket, volleyball, or kickboxing, should have a doctor, a physiotherapist, and two paramedics on standby. According to Bhusal, such incidents cannot be predicted in advance, and the necessary medical personnel should be deployed to respond to the situation. Equipment such as an Automatic Exterior Defibrillator (AED) should always be on standby alongside personnel. Bhusal was seen on the field asking for an AED (automated external defibrillator) while performing CPR on Manish. In such situations, it is necessary to act in accordance with the circumstances, so everything should be prepared, according to Bhusal.

When it comes to building a team in Nepali sports, medical assistance is at the bottom of the priority list. According to Bhusal, the inclusion of a few medical personnel in various teams is solely for cover-up purposes. At the start of this league season, there were some complaints about clubs not having physiotherapists on staff. This is due to a lack of understanding of the importance of medics in a team, rather than a lack of manpower in the country, according to Bhusal.

Bhusal also stated that any team or tournament that is not medically prepared should be scrapped and should not be allowed to compete across the country. According to Bhusal, systematic solutions are the way to tackle this issue. "Every federation should set up criteria for medical assistance in the team and any team that doesn’t comply with the criteria should be banned from competing", Bhusal made a bold claim.

Suraj has been a strong advocate for BLS (Basic Life Support) training in the sports sector, especially after the Christian Eriksen incident at the UEFA Euros last summer, when the entire world felt the need for it. In terms of medical attention at stadiums, Bhusal claims that the situation has improved since he worked with the national team years ago. Suraj, on the other hand, kept emphasizing the importance of quick response, particularly from the players on the field. "Even if ANFA doesn't take any steps regarding this issue, I personally will step up and do what I can to my club or anything else to train people about BLS, be it knocking on doors," Suraj said, determined.

Sports injuries can be much more than just head injuries. On the same match, Chyasal Youth Club goalkeeper Arpan Karki was also stretchered off due to a knee injury. He has ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) according to initial scans. With a similar injury, Sabitra Bhandari, Nepal women’s team forward recently came back after her treatment in Qatar with the assistance of Qatar FA. Bhusal expressed his gratitude to ANFA for making this possible, but added that Nepal is more than capable of treating such serious injuries, however, ANFA and other federations should prioritize medical assistance in order to bring the situation out of the mud.