Real Madrid star Denzel Dumfries sends message on player workload: “We need to rest”

Real Madrid star Denzel Dumfries sends message on player workload: “We need to rest” Speaking at the XV Sports Global Medicine Summit at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid defender Denzel Dumfries touched upon the importance of rest and recovery for professional footballers amidst a bloated calendar. The Dutch defender was among several guests at the event organised by the Sports Doctor Network, with Real Madrid’s head of medical department, Dr Niko Mihic also present. Dumfries underlines importance of rest In an era when players are forced to play a match almost every three days at club level, while having to represent national teams during off-season, Dumfries highlighted the importance of rest for professional footballers. “We need to rest, we play a lot of matches…” commented Dumfries, as quoted by AS . Dumfries highlighted the importance of rest and sleep for footballers. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) The Real Madrid summer signing also pointed to sleep as one of the most important tools available to professional athletes, as he said: “Sleep is crucial; we need to recover as quickly as possible, and sleep is one of the most powerful tools we [footballers] have to achieve that and to take care of our bodies.” Dumfries, 30, has had an active career at the highest level for 12 years now, spanning spells in the Netherlands, Italy, and now Spain. And, the Dutch right-back has seen the fixture calendar grow year after year, making it challenging for professional footballers. And, he pointed out that rest and sleep are two important tools at players’ disposal to tackle the issue. How has Dumfries fared at Real Madrid? Dumfries joined Real Madrid in the summer. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Real Madrid signed Dumfries from Inter Milan during the summer transfer window, by activating his €20 million release clause. The seasoned defender was brought in as a direct replacement for former club captain and legend Dani Carvajal, who left at the end of the last season following the expiry of his contract. Since joining the Merengues , Dumfries has made 11 appearances across all competitions managing to register a solitary assist in the process. While the Netherlands international has not exactly been poor, he has failed to completely convince Jose Mourinho, which has led to the Real Madrid manager using Federico Valverde in the right-back role on occasions this season.