Essien slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a soft white hospital bed. His right thigh muscle ached, and his body felt completely drained, but he could sense that he was probably going to be fine.
The first thing he saw was the IV drip hanging beside the bed. It had already been disconnected, so it seemed he was in a hospital.
Looking out through the glass window, where the curtains had been drawn back, he saw that it was pitch-black outside. Clearly, it was already night. He wondered how the match that afternoon had ended.
Thinking of the afternoon's match, Essien could no longer just lie there. He struggled to prop himself up into a half-sitting position. Hearing the hospital room door open, he turned his head and saw Ethan.
"Boss..." Essien immediately sat up straight.
"Are you okay, Michael?" Ethan asked with a smile.
Essien shook his head. "I'm fine!"
"That's good. You really scared us this afternoon, but it's good that you're okay. By the way, I bought you something to eat. You haven't eaten all day, so you should have a little." Ethan shook the bag in his hand.
Essien gratefully took it and opened it, finding some of his favourite food inside. It was clear that Ethan had gone to a restaurant specifically to buy it. He suddenly felt a lump in his throat, and his nose stung.
"Eat. It's evening now!" Ethan found a chair by the bed and sat down.
Upon hearing this, Essien immediately felt guilty and afraid. "You know, Boss?"
Ethan nodded. "It's not a big deal, Michael. It's Ramadan, and you're a devout Muslim. We all respect your faith."
"You're not angry at all?" Essien asked, looking carefully at Ethan.
Hearing this, Ethan found it amusing inside, but he immediately put on a stern face. "To be honest, I am a little angry!"
Upon hearing this, Essien was nearly terrified. He stammered, trying to explain and apologise, but he could not get the words out.
"I'm angry because you never told me about something this important. Michael, I'm your boss, and you play for my club. I should know your situation. At the very least, you should have discussed it with me so I would know, 'Oh, the period from December 10th, 1999, to January 7th, 2000, is your Ramadan,' and then I could have asked the coaching staff to prepare in advance."
Ethan lectured Essien earnestly.
Ethan was no stranger to Ramadan. In fact, many of the big-name stars he knew were Muslims, such as Mahamadou Diarra, the Touré brothers, Benzema, and so on.
After learning that Essien had not eaten or drunk anything during the day for over half a month because of Ramadan, Ethan immediately checked the other players at the club. He discovered that Muntari and Abidal were also Muslims and were also observing Ramadan. However, Muntari was in the youth team and did not play many matches, while Abidal had his own ways of dealing with Ramadan.
Only Essien, young and stubborn as he was, had relied entirely on his own willpower to hold on.
However, this was also related to Essien going to participate in the U-17 World Championship. If he had returned to the club earlier, New Manchester United would surely have noticed something wrong with him sooner. But after he returned, his performances in both training and matches had not been ideal, which led the club to instinctively assume it was because of his long-distance travel.
"I know I was wrong, Boss!" Essien admitted his mistake, lowering his head.
Ethan patted his shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, Michael. Leave these matters to us. You just need to focus on playing football. Besides, I've already asked Jim to pick up your mother. She'll come and take care of you. However, for the next two days, you are a patient, so you must eat well and take care of your body, understand?"
Essien nodded heavily in agreement.
After Abba arrived, Ethan stayed at the hospital for a while longer before leaving.
"Mr. Yu is truly a great person, Michael. You must play football well and not let down Mr. Yu's expectations of you, understand?" Abba said, stroking Essien's head.
Essien stared at Ethan's departing back, full of gratitude, and repeatedly nodded in agreement with his mother.
After asking Jim to take him to City Stadium first to pick up his car, Ethan went directly to the Newton Heath Training Base.
Professor Fryer, Derek, and the others were still busy in the Lab. They had just brought back a series of Essien's data from the hospital, and this data was clearly of great help to their research.
"Professor Fryer, is there any way to create a reasonable diet and training plan specifically for Muslim players during Ramadan to avoid a decline in their form?" Ethan went straight to Professor Fryer.
The latter was busy in front of a computer. After hearing Ethan's words, he immediately stood up. "You're right, Ethan. Derek and I are currently researching this area, but it takes time, and we also need more data and help from the Muslim players in the team."
"That's absolutely no problem!" Ethan agreed without a second thought.
Just then, Derek walked over with a report containing a long list of data and handed it to Professor Fryer.
"Actually, I think it's almost impossible for it not to affect the players' form, but I think it should be possible to ensure they can still play in matches. The only problem is hydration!" Derek said.
"That's right. Whether players are playing matches or training, they have to exert a lot of physical effort, which consumes water in their bodies. But during Ramadan, they are prohibited from eating or drinking during the day. That's the big problem." Professor Fryer frowned after reading Derek's report.
"Is there really no effective way?" Ethan felt helpless. In fact, even Mourinho, when he later coached Inter Milan, had felt helpless and angry about the performance of the devout Muslim Muntari during Ramadan.
"It takes time, Ethan!" Derek said with a wry smile.
"My two dear experts, this Ramadan lasts until the 7th, which means the players won't be able to eat normally until after Eid al-Fitr on the 8th. But we still have two matches to play during this period. This is no joke."
Derek and Professor Fryer looked at each other, both showing helpless expressions.
"The time is indeed too tight, Ethan. Besides, to be honest, we really don't have any experience in this area," Derek comforted him.
"So, the best way now is to try to avoid playing Essien and Abidal. Essien was lucky not to suffer a serious injury this afternoon, but we don't know what will happen in the upcoming matches. You have to know that during Ramadan, players become very weak and are much more prone to injury!" Professor Fryer gave his suggestion.
Abidal was New Manchester United's starting centre-back this season, and Essien had also recently replaced the injured Marginson as the starting defensive midfielder. If these two players were absent, it would have a huge impact on New Manchester United.
Was there really no other way?
Ethan searched his mind for everything he knew about players and Ramadan in the years to come, but he had to admit that most of it was just helplessness.
But just as he was about to give up, he suddenly remembered an example.
"What do you think? If we adjust the three-meals-a-day diet plan to the night, would that work?"
Upon hearing this, Derek and Professor Fryer felt as if something had flashed through their minds, but they could not quite grasp it. They could only look at Ethan questioningly, signalling for him to explain.
"I mean, during Ramadan, Muslims can't eat or drink during the day. We can adjust the three meals to night-time, for example, after sunset, before sleep, and before dawn. And since they can't drink water during the day, we can provide them with nutritional drinks during this time. For instance, they must drink a certain amount of vitamin drinks to replenish their daily water and nutrition."
After hearing this, Professor Fryer immediately pointed at Ethan, looking somewhat excited. "Good idea, not bad! Derek, I think this is completely feasible. Since players lose a lot of water after training but can't replenish it in time, we can provide them with a certain amount of drinks containing carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients at night to help them restore their physical functions."
"As for food, I think we should start adjusting it before Ramadan and then adjust it back after Ramadan. At the same time, training time and training content can also be changed accordingly. During this period, the players' main focus should be maintaining their form."
After speaking, Derek began calculating with Professor Fryer how to proceed, such as how the players' diet should be arranged after switching to night-time, how the nutritional content of the drinks should be adjusted, and how the training plan should be modified.
All of this involved a lot of professional knowledge, and Ethan was a layman in this regard. He could only provide some methods he knew from his previous life, but he certainly did not know how to implement them specifically, so this had to be left to professionals like Professor Fryer and Derek to handle.
However, a plan that had to last for a month obviously could not be perfected in a short time. For now, the Lab could only provide a basic execution plan. After working through the night, they handed it to Bruce early the next morning.
The coaching staff immediately arranged the training for Abidal and Muntari based on the report sent by the Lab. Especially for Abidal, the Lab even arranged for a dedicated person to follow and monitor him, in order to obtain data for this plan and further improve it.
On the third day after the match, Essien returned to the club after being discharged from the hospital, and he also joined this plan. But for safety's sake, Bruce still did not include him in the squad for the away match on January 4th. Instead, he prepared to play a 4-4-2 formation in this match.
But just as New Manchester United were heading away to challenge Yeovil Town, the FA Cup fourth-round draw ceremony also began to enter the view of all clubs and media. However, before the draw ceremony, New Manchester United became involved in a controversy.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)