Charlton and South African defender Mark Fish said he was allowed to use the banned endurance-boosting substance EPO to help him recover from a career-threatening chest injury.
Fish (30) suffered a serious chest wound in March when he fell at home on a glass vase, losing eight pints of blood. He said he needed almost 40 stitches.
”My pulse was down to 20 beats per minute at one stage, and if I hadn’t had the right people around I could have easily lost more blood,” he said Saturday on the Charlton club website. ”My hemoglobin, or red-blood count, was down to 5,2 and usually it’s 14.”
He said the English Football Association gave him permission to use EPO to boost his red-blood cell count. EPO, or erythropoietin, is a hormone naturally produced by the body but also available as a genetically engineered product.
EPO artificially increases the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells and, therefore, enhances aerobic and endurance capacity. It has become a favorite of endurance athletes seeking an edge.
Fish said he hoped to come out of international retirement to play again for South Africa. He also said he had signed a 12-month extension with the London club. – Sapa-AP