Sergio Aguero has revealed the radical changes he has made to his diet and lifestyle to end his injury problems.
The Manchester City striker has given up pasta, meat and sugar and earned a reward, as he has spent less time on the sidelines.
Aguero, who has had calf and hamstring problems, hopes that he will spend less time on the treatment table in the second half of his career.
The 26-year-old Argentina striker sustained a knee problem against Everton in December, but has not been troubled by muscle strains and has appeared in 31 of City’s 36 league games.
“I had to change a lot of things, starting with my food,” he said. “I needed a healthier way of life.
“Touch wood, I haven’t had any muscle injuries this season, only the knee problem.
“I went to a doctor in Italy and he checked everything we did, and I had to change quite a bit: no more pasta, no more sugar and no meat, which I used to eat quite a bit because Argentinian meat is very good.
“Hopefully, this season has proved that it has worked and I can stay the same until the end of my career.
“In training sessions I was struggling a little bit last season. For example, after every three training sessions I had to stop, so I have improved in that.
“I have also had to have a lot of treatment after training sessions as well. Now I hope I can stay like this until the end of my career.”
Aguero’s health kick has been reflected in his goal return.
He has struck 31 times in all competitions and 25 in the Premier League, both career-best tallies, and Sunday’s hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers means he is almost certain to win the Golden Boot.
He has a five-goal advantage over his closest challenger, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, but his fellow professionals voted the Spurs striker and Chelsea top scorer Diego Costa into the PFA Team of the Year, at Aguero’s expense.
“It also happened in the season when I scored 23 goals and we won the Premier League and I didn’t get the young player of the season award,” Aguero said.
Three years on, it remains remarkable that Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker won that particular award, but Aguero provided that season’s decisive contribution with the goal that made City champions.
His current glut will not have the same impact and his thoughts are already turning to regaining the crown.
“My job is to score goals, but what I really want next season is for City to win titles,” he said. “We want to finish the best we can and start next season fighting for every title.”
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