Gary Lewin (born 16 May 1964) is an English

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

who has worked with football clubs Arsenal and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, and the England national team. Lewin was the head physiotherapist at Arsenal for a total of 22 years. He held a similar position from 1996 with England, and from 2008 to 2017 assumed the post of England's Senior Head of Physiotherapy. He was Head of Medical Services for West Ham between May 2017 and May 2018.

Biography

Lewin joined Arsenal as a young

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

aged 16 in 1980. After a one-year spell at Barnet he became reserve-team physio at the age of 19. He trained at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

School of Physiotherapy from 1983 to 1986, before returning to Arsenal in 1986 as first -team physiotherapist. Lewin has gone on to attain a BSc (hons) in Biology and a Diploma in Physiotherapy. He is also a Member of the College of Sports Physiotherapists, and is a State Registered Physiotherapist. Lewin was called into action in 1989 where he almost had to break

David Rocastle David Carlyle Rocastle (2 May 1967 – 31 March 2001) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder in the roles of a playmaker and a winger. He spent the majority of his career at Arsenal where he was nicknamed "Rocky". Ro ...

's jaw as he swallowed his tongue so as to perform life-saving treatment. He went on to become an expert on

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

injuries, due to his experiences with

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...

, and advised

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

's physio's on the treatment of often-injured midfielder

David Dunn David John Ian Dunn (born 27 December 1979) is an English former professional football player and manager; he is now a coach at club Port Vale. Dunn played as an attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career representing ...

. During the

2007 Football League Cup Final The 2007 Football League Cup Final was a football match between Chelsea and Arsenal on 25 February 2007 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2006–07 staging of the Football League Cup, and last to be staged at ...

on 25 February 2007, Lewin was close to the incident where

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

skipper

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...

was hit in the face by

Abou Diaby Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending. Described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and a ...

's foot during a corner in the Arsenal penalty area. Terry swallowed his tongue and Lewin was the first physio to assist Terry, possibly saving his life. Lewin was credited by former Arsenal striker

Eduardo da Silva Eduardo Alves da Silva (, ; born 25 February 1983), commonly known as Eduardo and sometimes nicknamed Dudu, is a former professional footballer. Capable of playing any forward position, he started as a striker, but was deployed mostly as a ...

with saving his foot and career after a

broken leg The human leg, in the general word sense, is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or gluteal region. However, the definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower li ...

suffered on 23 February 2008. Lewin was first-team physio at Arsenal for 22 years, and also from 1996 onwards with the England national team as well. His time at Arsenal came to an end when he was appointed by the Football Association to be England's Head of Physiotherapy from 1 August 2008. Following Lewin's switch to the full-time England job, his cousin Colin Lewin took over at Arsenal. During England's first game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Lewin was stretchered off. During the celebrations for the equalising goal by

Daniel Sturridge Daniel Andre Sturridge (; born 1 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who last played as a striker. As well as representing England, he has played in the Premier League for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool ...

, Lewin jumped up and slipped on some synthetic turf, and was later diagnosed with a dislocation to his left ankle and from that dislocation he fractured the fibula in two places, fractured the back of the tibia and also ruptured the ligaments. On 20 March 2017, Lewin rejoined Arsenal as physiotherapist for the women's team. On 30 May 2017, Lewin was appointed as the Head of Medical Services at

. He left the club following the appointment for

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Lúis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed teams in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China and Ecuador. ...

as manager at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Personal life

Gary Lewin is an ambassador of the Brain & Spine Foundation, the only UK wide charity providing medical information and emotional support on the full range of neurological conditions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Gary 1964 births Living people Footballers from East Ham Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Barnet F.C. players Association football physiotherapists West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers