INTO THE UNKNOWN

COVID-19 and sports: From uptick in injuries to mental health issues, the risks for athletes are plentiful

As sports return one by one, uncertainty prevails. Major League Baseball is set to resume July 23, while the National Women’s Soccer League resumed July 4. Major League Soccer returned last week from Orlando, Fla., and the NBA is scheduled to begin its games Aug. 15 from its own Orlando “bubble,” while the WNBA will start an abbreviated 22-game schedule later this month.

The best chance for athletics to sustain during the COVID-19 pandemic is for those involved to be open and willing to adjust, said Dr. Brian Cole, a sports medicine surgeon at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center.

“This is one situation where you can’t see around every corner,” Cole said. “There are a ton of blind spots. You get a curveball that’s epidemiologically based where you find something else out about testing that wasn’t apparent before because of all the research going on. You have to have humility and be nimble. Tomorrow brings a whole new set of circumstances.”

Bringing athletes back to their training facilities and arenas carries a host of issues leagues must be prepared to tackle — and not just on how to limit the spread of the coronavirus. From mental health issues to nutrition to an uptick in injuries caused by a layoff from elite-level workouts, the potential problems are plentiful.

“The other thing I think people forget about is the

JOSE M. OSORIO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE Cubs shortstop Javier Baez tosses the ball during batting practice during February’s spring training. Five months later, players are returning to workouts.