Football
Mike Whalley 9y

Club doctor Zaf Iqbal reveals reason for Liverpool exit after Palace move

Former Liverpool club doctor Zaf Iqbal says he left the club in January for personal reasons following a family illness.

Dr Iqbal joined Crystal Palace this week, saying that he needed to be nearer to his wife and children in London.

The doctor said that an illness suffered by his son, coupled with increasing responsibility at Anfield, made it difficult for him to stay on Merseyside, more than 200 miles away from his family.

He left Liverpool on Jan. 7, four-and-a-half years after joining the Reds from Tottenham.

Dr Iqbal told the BBC Asian Network: "Unfortunately my son has been unwell, and so as a result of that my wife and kids were based in London.

"That meant that although I had my dream job working at Liverpool, I was commuting back and forth, which was fine for the first couple of years.

"In 2012 I became head of the department, and with that came added responsibilities, so I had less time to actually get back to London.

"As a result of that it really came to a head this year, being in the Champions League and not having a single day off in December, it meant I wasn't able to get back down to London.

"Something had to give. I had a great time up in Liverpool, but as anyone will tell you family wins every time, and I had to get back to London."

Dr Iqbal, who was based at Liverpool's Melwood training ground, was responsible for the medical treatment of all players.

He put prospective new signings through their medicals and sat on the bench on matchdays.

In addition, he helped the club's medical and sports science teams to devise daily fitness programmes for each player.

A Liverpool fan, he worked for League Two club Leyton Orient and for England's youth teams before joining Tottenham, where he was promoted to the role of first-team doctor in 2008.

On his move to Crystal Palace, Dr Iqbal said: "I'm really looking forward to it. Crystal Palace are a fantastic club, and they are based in London, which was really important for me."

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