ASTHMA TESTS FOR ENGLAND PLAYERS

FA move to boost player performance

ENGLAND’S footballers have been given unpleasant and potentially controversial asthma tests in preparation for this summer’s World Cup.

Sportsmail can reveal that the FA contacted clubs at the end of last month informing them of a plan to offer Eucapnic Voluntary Hyperpnea tests to Gareth Southgate’s squad at St George’s Park this week.

But the move could leave the national team open to accusations that they have entered a grey area, even if such testing is fairly commonplace in elite sport.

The widespread use of asthma medication by professional athletes invites cynicism because there is a history of abuse of such drugs, not least in endurance sports such as cycling and distance running.

And the question that may be put to the FA is why they need to test Southgate’s players for asthma when they already operate as professional athletes under the care

of highly-qualified medical teams at their clubs. An email was sent to clubs by England doctors on February 28 informing them they were looking for ‘exercise-induced asthma or control of pre-existing asthma’. It added that no treatment would be given without the clubs being informed and gave clubs the opportunity to object. It also asked if players had already had an EVH test under club supervision. The test is strenuous and it is understood one England player came close to vomiting. Asthma medication remains a sensitive area in sport despite the fact that some of the drugs do not require an exemption under the WADA code. Cyclist Chris Froome is fighting to avoid a ban after exceeding the permitted level of salbutamol at the Vuelta a Espana last year, and Sir Bradley Wiggins has come under fire for obtaining medical exemptions to use triamcinolone ahead of the 2012 Tour de France and two other major races. The FA declined to comment last night, but one medical expert with links to a Premier League club suggested concern about pollution in Russian cities and around England’s training base near St Petersburg may have been a factor in ordering the test. Another source argued it was acceptable to test players and make sure they can perform to their optimum at the World Cup. A further health expert at a club questioned whether the FA’s appointment of a medic with a background in Olympic and endurance sport could be behind the initiative. Before becoming England team doctor, Rob Chakraverty treated Sir Mo Farah and other elite GB athletes. Earlier this month a parliamentary report called for him to be investigated by the General Medical Council for failing to record properly an infusion of L Carnitine given to Farah. The FA would not confirm last night that Chakraverty was behind the initiative. Exercise-induced asthma does seem to be surprisingly common among elite athletes. When members of the British swimming squad were tested a few years ago it was found that 70 per cent had a form of asthma, compared to the national asthma rate of between eight and 10 per cent. Speaking to The Guardian in 2014, leading respiratory expert Dr John Dickinson accepted it remained a source of debate. Dickinson, who works with elite athletes from his base at the University of Kent, said: ‘It depends which respiratory consultant you talk to. It’s a grey zone but my argument is it’s a form of asthma.’