Report: Eagles Making Changes to Medical Staff
First the Sixers decided to go in a new direction with their medical staff, now the Eagles.
A report from Tim McManus at ESPN says the Birds are naming Arsh Dhanota their chief medical officer. Dhanota is currently the medical director of non-operative sports medicine at Penn.
…In this newly created position he will oversee the entire medical staff and is responsible for streamlining communication throughout all departments.
Meanwhile, the team is parting ways with head team physician and head internist Stephen A. Stache, who was in that role for just one year.
The Eagles significantly altered their medical and training staff following their Super Bowl run in 2017, parting with head internist Gary Dorshimer, head physician Peter DeLuca and head trainer Chris Peduzzi, all of whom had been with the team for close to two decades. Stache and Christopher Dodson replaced Dorshimer and DeLuca, while Jerome Reid, formerly the assistant athletic director of the Tennessee Titans, took over for Peduzzi.
The Eagles had more than a 50 percent increase in the number of regular-season games lost to injury in 2018, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The revamped staff came under public scrutiny as questions surrounding injuries to high-profile members of the Eagles cropped up. There was a perception problem among some players in the locker room when it came to the medical team as the season went along, sources said, one that the addition of Dhanota could help fix.
Off the top of my head I recall the Carson Wentz back issue, multiple soft tissue problems, and the Darren Sproles setbacks. Throw Mack Hollins on the list, too. Jalen Mills had the foot injury and it felt like half the team was on IR at one point last year.
We shall see what happens this season. Injuries happen, yes, but it felt like the timelines for recovery were really wonky, as were some of the diagnoses and explanations presented to fans and media. Something just felt “off.”