COLLINGWOOD and Essendon's looming four-day breaks are more mind over matter, according to one of the world's leading fitness gurus.
Darren Burgess, High Performance boss at soccer giant Arsenal – after two stints at Port Adelaide – believes players who competed in Wednesday's Anzac Day clash will be able to back up in time for return bouts on Sunday.
The Pies have 93 hours from walking off the MCG on Anzac Day before facing Richmond, while the Bombers will front up against Melbourne with just 91 hours between matches.
The Tigers and Demons themselves have five days to prepare for the matches on Sunday after playing on Tuesday night.
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"I think it's the perception that they won't be able to recover within four days," Burgess told AFL.com.au this week.
"Most research shows that players almost fully recover in three days, so I think it's more perception than anything.
"Of course, if players get minor injuries (corkies, etc.) then normally 6-7 days allows them to recover more completely so this will put both clubs at a disadvantage."
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Responsible for Port Adelaide's fitness program from 2005-07 and 2012-2017, Burgess said his counterparts at the Pies and Bombers would have a big say in the preparation.
"It's more the training that gets altered rather than anything magical in recovery," he said.
"You will certainly place more emphasis on recovery so an emphasis on good sleep and good nutrition should be a focus.
"In these shorter turnarounds, physical preparation is just as important as tactical preparation, so training might have to be compromised."
Burgess (r) chats to Travis Boak during his second stint at the Power. Picture: AFL Photos
Burgess returned to Europe last year to work alongside Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in one of the world's most highly scrutinised sporting competitions.
Playing in the domestic English Premier League, Arsenal also finds itself travelling the continent playing against some of Europe's biggest franchises.
"We played in Moscow and returned home at 5am Friday morning, then had to play in Newcastle (UK) at 1pm Sunday only last week, so we faced similar issues," Burgess said.
"The sleep is most important in this scenario.
"Most players sleep poorly after games, so in the following two days we alter training times to make sure the players have enough time to sleep.
"We're also lucky enough to have a range of recovery units on site such as sleep rooms, cryotherapy chambers, spas, saunas and ice baths, so we make full use of those."
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Just five rounds into the AFL season, Burgess said Collingwood and Essendon would need to apply most caution towards players who had setbacks in the pre-season
"I'm not sure it is (most concern) for veterans, but it certainly is for players with recent interrupted training loads," he said.
"The players with the most resilience would be able to back up the best and these tend to be players who have completed all of pre-season and have been relatively injury free for the preceding few months."
Bombers Josh Begley (knee) and Josh Greene (hamstring) will head for scans ahead of Sunday.
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At the Pies, limited preparations for Jordan De Goey (hamstring), James Aish (calf) and Jeremy Howe (calf) may see them monitored this week.
Meanwhile, veteran Pie Ben Reid, who has struggled with a number of soft tissue injuries in recent years, is expected to play following a light week on the training track.
"We won’t train much this week, we'll just recover, recover, recover and try and get right for Richmond on Sunday," Reid told AFL.com.au.
"As long as I'm feeling good I'll play. If there's any doubt it's up to the fitness staff. I'll definitely put my hand up because they're the type of games you want to play."
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