German sports physician addresses rumours Mesut Ozil's back injury is due to Fortnite

Posted Saturday, December 08, 2018 by givemesport.com

Mesut Ozil looks set to miss Arsenal's clash with Huddersfield on Saturday due to back spasms that also kept him out against Tottenham and Manchester United.

It's been almost a month since the German last played, which came during the disappointing 1-1 draw to Wolves at home.

Arsenal have played four games in that time, beating Bournemouth, Vorskla and Spurs and drawing to United on Wednesday night.

Word of Ozil missing a fifth game running comes per the Evening Standard, with Arsenal manager Unai Emery saying on Thursday that a decision would be made on Friday.

"This morning he (Ozil) worked with the physiotherapist on the pitch, running and touching the ball," said Emery in his press conference. "[Friday] will be the decision."

Ozil's continued absence has become a cause for concern for Arsenal fans, who were told earlier this week that the 30-year-old's back injury could be because of playing too much Fortnite.

Fortnite is the video game everyone is talking about at the moment and Ozil is reportedly a huge fan of the third-person shooter.

A website called 'Wasted on Fortnite' apparently says Ozil's gamer account has played 5,221 games of Fortnite. Each game on average lasts 20 minutes.

German sports physician addresses rumours Mesut Ozil's back injury is due to Fortnite

By that logic Ozil has spent approximately 1,740 hours on the game, which equates to 72 days and five hours per day.

Quite how accurate that information is up for debate, but now a German sports physician has addressed whether Ozil's back injury could actually be down to playing too much Fortnite.

Ingo Frobose is a professor for Prevention and Rehabilitation in Sport at the German Sports University of Cologne and he claims it's highly possible.

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

German sports physician addresses rumours Mesut Ozil's back injury is due to Fortnite

"This is because Ozil's physical structures are highly tuned due to his intense training. A non-athlete, however, does not notice that."

Interesting. Frobose claims that because Ozil is a professional footballer whose body is used to intense training, he's more affected by hours of inactivity than a regular gamer.

Gaming can be an unhealthy addiction, so perhaps Emery would be wise to tell Ozil to stop playing Fortnite and see if it helps his recovery.