Serbian health authorities are looking for a mysterious healer who has recently treated the injuries of several English Premier League football players with a cure that includes massage with horse placenta.
Marijana Kovacevic has apparently gone underground after health inspectors, accompanied by policemen, wanted to visit her private clinic in Belgrade last week. The health authorities say the pharmacology doctor turned physiotherapist has been practicing without a license.
Kovacevic's reputation as a miracle healer for sports injuries has spread like wildfire throughout the Premier League, with Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Fabio Aurelio and Glen Johnson traveling to Belgrade earlier this month.
Benayoun, who was expected to be out for several weeks with a leg muscle injury, returned to action in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Saturday, scoring the equalizing goal.
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard became the latest Premier League star to seek Kovacevic's radical treatment for his torn thigh muscle at the weekend.
The whole craze started when Serbia forward Danko Lazovic told Van Persie, his former PSV Eindhoven teammate, about a healer who uses unusual methods that could treat his ankle injury. Lazovic said several Serbian players, including himself, had been cured faster than expected by the massage that involves fluid from horse placenta.
"It's good, I'm happy. The woman is a miracle," Van Persie was quoted as saying last week by Serbian newspaper Alo as he left Kovacevic's Belgrade apartment after being treated.
Her former patients seem to have nothing but praise for the unorthodox methods of Kovacevic, who has dodged the media since her newfound fame and is not giving interviews or allowing photos of her to be taken.
"Marijana is amazing," said former Serbia player Dusan Petkovic. "She saved the careers of several Serb and foreign players. All those muscle injuries, including ruptures, she is treating without a mistake.
"She uses a combination of electricity and the miracle gel that is her exclusive product. The electric current goes through a stick holding the gel, which is applied to the injured spot."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that although he was doubtful about the healing methods used on Van Persie, he had given him permission to undergo the cure in Belgrade.
"I'm not a fan, but I'm not a doctor either," Wenger said Friday. "I respect the freedom of everybody to be treated in the way they want to be treated."
