Putellas’ injury can be described as bad luck, but on the other hand, Martens notices in general that female football players have been taxed more and more in recent years. Physically and mentally. It was not for nothing that several clubs sounded the alarm bells before, also because of the risk of burnout. Martens: ,,The way of training is good, but if you also see how many injuries we had at FC Barcelona last season… At a certain point the body just says stop.”
Martens was sidelined for three months in the second half of the season due to injuries and missed nine of the thirty league matches of national champions FC Barcelona. Despite this, the 136-time international in the Primera División Femenina was good for 21 goals. ,,As players, we are burdened so heavily. That is sometimes underestimated. We play two games a week and train almost every day. If you’re lucky, you’ll have one day off a week and a total of two weeks of vacation over a year. Well, how many days do you have off? More than us, right?”
Yet Martens does not want to whine. ,,As a footballer she always wants to play, always to win. Injuries are unfortunately part of the job† I don’t want to talk about it too much either.”