Special: Van Persie Just The Latest In Line Of Bizarre Injury Treatments

Robin van Persie has decided to place his injured right ankle in the hands of a Serbian housewife who specialises in healing massages using placenta fluid.

If the massages are successful, he believes they can help him reduce the orthodox medical prognosis of his recovery period from seven weeks to three. 

"She is vague about her methods, but I know that she first massages you for a long time with placenta fluid," said van Persie. "I am going to give it a try. It can't do any harm and if it helps, it helps..."

Unusual? Yes. Bizarre? Er... yes, too. Risky? Unlikely. Unique? No. Plenty of other desperate, injured sportsmen have tried to recover using a wide range of bizarre methods.

And plenty of managers have tried a variety of weird and wonderful ways of hurrying players out of the treatment room and back on to the playing field.

Such a blow | Van Persie injury has rocked Wenger 

Who can forget the wonderful work of Eileen Drewery, when employed by the England manager Glenn Hoddle during the 1998 World Cup finals in France?

Drewery was a faith healer and she was made available to Hoddle's selected squad to help them overcome problems and focus on positive thoughts that would improve their performances.

When the Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour was asked to go and see her, it is alleged that the following exchange took place:

Drewery (hears knock on door): Come in, what can I do for you?

Parlour (entering room with face set firmly to resist temptation for cheeky grin): Oh, a short back and sides, please...

Hoddle, it was said, found it difficult to see the funny side.

It may be difficult, too, for Wenger to see the funny side of van Persie's dash to Belgrade this week until the Dutch striker flies home and reports to the Arsenal physiotherapist Colin Lewin for orthodox treatment.

Seven safe weeks can sometimes be more sensible than three with unknown consequences.

But van Persie's injury, suffered when he played for the Netherlands in Italy last Saturday, is just another in a long list of examples of top players looking for a fast route to recovery - and potentially another hilarious example of the strange things that happen in football.

Everyone has seen a player tumble and go off injured in a pre-match warm-up, or a referee pull a muscle when attempting to sprint on a heavy pitch - or even a goalkeeper go down in a heap as he takes a goal kick.

But who knew about Pavel Nedved's extraordinary 'bionic' knee before he strained it during the 2004 European Championship finals in Portugal? The captain of the Czech Republic made a rapid recovery thanks in part, his doctor said, to the extraordinary arrangement of his kneecap's parts.

Three and kn-easy | Physical quirk helped Nedved

Most of us have a two-part patella, but Nedved, they discovered, has a tripartite patella - and this allowed him the slightly bandy-legged style and twists and turns that lit up his long and successful career with Juventus.

Alongside that discovery, the use of acupuncture is pretty ordinary these days - but not Jimmy Bullard's decision to have the ligaments from a deceased male donor inserted in his knee; or Jonathan Woodgate's to have extract of cockerel crest injected into his knee.

And, as to injuries themselves, who can beat that of the former Wimbledon and Chelsea goalkeeper Dave Beasant? He missed the start of the 1993-94 season when he dropped a jar of salad cream; as it crashed to the floor, he stuck out his bare foot to trap it in mid-air - with bloody consequences...

And there are more and more from Ivano Bonetti, of Grimsby Town, who suffered a broken cheek bone when his manager Brian Laws threw a plate of chicken wings at him, to Milan Rapaic, of Hajduk Split, who injured an eye during a pre-season tour by poking his boarding pass into it.

Remember Richard Wright, signed by Wenger as Arsenal's successor to David Seaman? Later, after joining Everton, he injured his ankle during a pre-match warm-up when he fell over a sign that warned players not to warm up in the goal area... 

Up and running | Bullard required a ligament donor

Or, famously, Steven Morrow of Arsenal, who scored the winning League Cup final goal against Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley - and was then hoisted high by Tony Adams in the celebrations, only to be dropped to the ground when the captain lost his footing.

Morrow broke his collarbone and was ruled out injured for the rest of the season, missing the FA Cup final at Wembley two months later...  

And finally, do not forget Darius Vassell, then of Aston Villa, who took injury treatment into his own hands when he discovered a blood blister under a big toe nail.

Not wishing to miss a game, he picked up his household drill and cut through the nail to drain the blister...  It worked, briefly, before complications set in. He picked up a blood infection and had to have the entire nail removed.

Good luck, Robin. And, let's hope you enjoy a speedy and trouble-free recovery...