LOST ON YOU

44

"Beckham!" The physio called me over. "Come here."

I jogged over lightly. "Yeah?"

She glanced at her tablet, her expression serious. "How are you feeling?"

"Good?" I shrugged. "What's up?"

"I see your heart rate here, and it doesn't reach the level it should during training."

"But I did everything right," I protested. "I was on the same intensity as everyone else and didn't stand out."

She sighed, concern etched on her face. "But it's not healthy. We need to look into this more."

"How do we do that?" I asked.

"Since training just ended, you can stay a bit longer and come into my office. We'll see what we can do," she suggested.

"Sure..." I agreed. "I just need to do one thing, then I'll be there, okay?"

She nodded, and I headed off the pitch towards the car park where Leah should be waiting for me.

As I stepped outside, I spotted her, looking puzzled as I approached still in my training kit, sweaty and tired.

"Leah," I said, reaching her. "I have to do some extra stuff here. Go without me. I'll get an Uber or something, alright?"

"What? Why?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"I just have to," I sighed. "I'll see you at home, okay?"

She nodded, leaning in for a quick kiss. "Alright, call me if you need anything..."

"I will. Drive safe. Love you."

"Love you," she replied, getting into the car as I headed back into the training ground.

I made my way to the physio's office, knocked, and entered.

She gestured for me to take a seat, then turned to her computer, scrolling through some files. After a moment, she looked at me with a serious expression.

"I see in your medical records that you had some heart problems as a child?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but it's nothing that should be an issue now. It's not recurring."

"But it could be relevant," she said, still focused on the screen. "If this gets discovered, you could be sidelined until we complete all the necessary tests."

"No, I can't lose playing time," I said, frustration creeping into my voice. "It's my first season here."

She nodded. "I understand, which is why I didn't inform anyone. That's why I asked you to come here alone."

"Is there anything we can do to fix this? Just to get me to the playing point?" I asked, my desperation evident.

"Well, I have a plan, but it has to stay between us. It's against regulations, and if anyone finds out, we could both be in serious trouble."

I leaned forward. "What's the plan?"

"We need to elevate your heart rate with more intensive training sessions," she explained. "But no one can know about this. We'll do this every day until the season starts to normalise your heart rate."