Andrew Nealon has spent most of his career responsible for the injury management of professional footballers and cricketers. Some of these players are genuine greats of their games and many are household names. With these jobs comes immense responsibility and pressure but most of all, the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the world’s best players and practitioners. Between these two sports, and at the highest level, there is not much Andrew hasn’t seen and solved, at least a couple of times. And so it’s most likely that Andrew has solved your problem before.

Andrew is currently Head of Medical Services for the Central Coast Mariners Football Club, overseeing all aspects of injury prevention and rehabilitation, physical performance and strength and conditioning. Prior to this appointment in 2016, he spent 4 years as Head Physiotherapist, starting with the Club when the Mariners finally won a Grand Final to be crowned Champions in 2013. Aspire Physiotherapy Centre began as a part time hobby during this time.

Andrew returned home to Australia in 2012 following over 6 years in the UK. The final 2 years were as Senior First Team Physiotherapist at Liverpool Football Club. During the reigns of Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, with Steven Gerrard as captain, and a couple of strikers like Torres and then Suarez, Liverpool played in the Europa League, won the Carling Cup at Wembley and lost the FA Cup Final in 2012. Andrew’s primary roles were the rehabilitation of injured players at Melwood and studying the latest practices and research to ensure that Liverpool was at the cutting edge of sports medicine.

Prior to moving into football, Andrew spent 10 years working in first class cricket. This started with occasional work with the NSW Cricket Team from 1998, with the first match he worked in captained by Mark Taylor and including S Waugh, M Waugh, Slater, Lee etc playing a Victorian team including Warne at the SCG. From 2000 to 2006, Andrew worked with the NSW Cricket Squad, including 4 seasons being responsible for injury management during the pre-season and 5 seasons traveling with the 2nd XI around Australia. After a year working in private practice in London, Andrew was appointed Head Physiotherapist at Hampshire County Cricket Club in 2007, with the team captained by Shane Warne. During the next 4 seasons, Hampshire lost one and then won a 1-day Final at Lord’s and Twenty20 Cup at The Rose Bowl. The Indian Cricket League was also born during this time and Andrew spent many months working with the Chennai Superstars who won the inaugural title and then also the ICL India team.

In 2011 Andrew enrolled part-time in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physiotherapy under the supervision of world leading tendon pain physiotherapist and researcher Professor Jill Cook. Andrew is in the process of writing up his thesis and is due to graduate at La Trobe University in Melbourne by 2019. Andrew has co-authored a number of papers that have been published, including in the prestigious British Journal of Sports Medicine. In over 18 years in practice Andrew has developed a network of colleagues that have collectively written hundreds of text books and journal articles. When you book an appointment at aspire, you are tapping into a lot more than half an hour or an hour of Andrew’s time.

“I know I’m very fortunate to have enjoyed the special journey that I have, working at grounds I dreamed of just going to watch a game at let alone going to work at. I grew up a Liverpool fan, staying up late to watch FA Cup Finals in the 80s and the Ashes on TV, hoping to one day play cricket for Australia like so many kids. My physiotherapy career has granted me so many wishes and taken me to places I was never even close to being good enough to play at. I’ve had the best ticket at the stadium on the bench at some iconic places. But I’m happiest at home. I’m more satisfied applying what I’ve learned around the world to my own patients, in my own clinic, than I’ve been anywhere else. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a patient recover and get back to their best, hearing them simply say thanks and referring someone they care about to benefit from the same help I provided them. It’s the ultimate compliment.

There are plenty of great physios. I don’t claim to be one of them. But none have worked harder than me and few have enjoyed the challenges that I’ve had. Establishing aspire Physiotherapy Centre is the culmination of years of ideas and experiences, bringing home what I have learned all over the world from some of the world’s best players and practitioners to the people of the Central Coast.”

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