Its actually a great question about physios Heimdall. A niggle however can be anything such as muscle tears and what grade they are, ligament strains, dead legs, bruising of tissue etc. There is a duty of care legislation that physios have to abide by and they also have to listen to the needs of the patient. They also have state of the art equipment that will show most instances of injury that may have been missed years ago. So I wouldn't say that the physio/ sports science department are being over zealous but more about taking precautions for the longevity of the players career. In terms of players, I feel like although some of us feel players are pussies, but I also believe the game is so balanced on fine margins nowadays that if you cannot play at 100% you may not only make mistakes, not make appropriate tackles etc but also increase risk of further injury. Sorry for long post but I find this stuff really interesting.
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