London: At least five other Barclays Premier League players have tried the same controversial placenta cure that Robin van Persie hopes will speed his return from an ankle ligament injury.
As the Arsenal forward flew to Belgrade yesterday in an attempt to cut his recovery from two months to less than three weeks, it came to light that three Manchester City players and two from Liverpool have already placed themselves in the care of radical physiotherapist Mariana Kovacevic.
Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong have all taken their search for a remedy to her Belgrade home, and Liverpool midfielders Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun are believed to have been there on Tuesday after suffering hamstring injuries against Birmingham.
Van Persie was last night thought to be undergoing the controversial procedure that involves massaging liquid from a horse's placenta into the affected area.
City even flew Kovacevic over to Manchester earlier this month and discussed the possibility of adding her to their medical staff.
Wary of publicity and secretive about her methods, she declined their invitation but made it clear she would continue to accept players as patients.
Demand for her services has now soared to such an extent that she has recruited a management company to run her affairs.
"She used to treat people in her spare time, but it has started spiralling out of control," said Zoran Krneta, of Star Management Signings. "She is quite secretive about it, but the three main elements are massage, the liquid and maybe a little bit of psychology."
