SPOTLIGHT ON: Emily Tyrer, Physiotherapist

SPOTLIGHT ON: Emily Tyrer, Physiotherapist

The 29-year-old from Kent has been full time with the British handball squad for 18 months, and will be the lead physiotherapist for GB during the Women's Four Nations Handball Tournament in Sheffield this week.

"I've been here the longest which is nice, seeing how everyone has improved," she said. "I've seen a lot of people come and go, players and staff, including Mike Plush who was the physio at the beginning when I first started. He was my mentor, but he works in boxing now."

But with the women's squad playing in Sheffield and the men in Oman, where would Emily rather be? "No question; I would much rather be here in Sheffield than out in the Middle East.

"On my average day I get up fairly early and can do about an hour of treatment with some of the athletes. Sometimes people need strapping or massage before training, then after lunch there's usually two of three hours of more treatment.

"When the players are playing I'm not too busy, but once they're chilling out between training and playing is my busy time. The day ends late for the physios, because when everybody is resting we are assessing and treating people.

"This job can be quite challenging for me, especially because we've got athletes who have come from different sports. That can lead to a few different injuries. Shoulders and knees are the main problem areas with handball, but especially knees with women because of their genetic make-up.

"But with GB it's mainly shoulder injuries because of the increase in training volume that many of them experience when they join the programme. All of the British-based players have had to increase the training volume significantly, and it hits them in their shoulders most."