I heard it was a bad back, not true though
i've suffered off and on with a bad back for years as well and the best thing for it is exercise. i had 12 months of physio for mine all aimed at getting me more active and mobile culminating in a load of free gym sessions at gateshead NHS's expense under physio supervision. If i get any twinges or pain at all now i go for a run or do some exercises and hey presto it lossens it up and kills the pain.
Physios used to say to us at the group sessions that excercise makes the body produce natural pain killers hence the term "run it off".
I don't believe the bad back thing, the whinging **** cried off because of blisters end of.
THat's not necessary, it's a new season, he has said he wants to do well and if he could have played im sure he would have. Imagine if he had put himself through it (it's very hard to run with blisters) and hand't played very well because of it, you know what people would say: "gutless...." etc.