Meet Eva Carneiro

The Chelsea Medic (and Real Madrid fan) who is the busiest Doctor in football

Eva Carneiro (Chelsea first-team doctor) is a Gibraltarian sports medicine specialist of a Spanish father and English mother. She had previously worked at the British Olympic Medical Institute and with England women's national football team and UK Athletics.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Carneiro was born in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. She studied medicine at Nottingham University before training and working in A&E and surgery in Scotland and Australia. She then continued her studies at Queen Mary University in London, completing an M.Sc in Sport and Exercise Medicine. Her M.Sc thesis was carried out at West Ham United.

Following the completion of her masters she worked in the Public Health department at Islington PCT in north London, and was also involved in weekly Sports & Orthopaedic Clinics at Whittington Hospital and the Olympic Medical Institute. She was then appointed to the UK Sports and Exercise Medicine Specialist training programme, working with UK athletes in the build up to the 2008 Summer Olympics and also with the women's football team.

Chelsea F.C. Career

Carneiro joined Chelsea in 2009, initially working with the Reserve team squad. She was promoted to work with the first team at the start of the 2011/12 season under the management of Andre Villas-Boas. Carneiro fell in love with the game while travelling in Mexico. She watched a match between Mexico and Brazil during the 1998 France World Cup and was hooked. Growing up she loved sport but struggled with injuries. 

‘It made me think there had to be more than rest to treatment of injuries and this sparked my evolving fascination with sports medicine,’ she said in 2009.

Does she support a team?

Real Madrid. Which could get awkward if they and Chelsea both make it to the Champions League final.

Anything else we need to know?

As a teenager Carneiro enjoyed ballet and riding, she loves to travel — handy, given her line of work — plus salsa and samba. She also likes to surf, something she learnt in Australia. 

‘Those moments on the surf in the early mornings and evenings I can honestly count among the happiest in my life,’ she said.

Culled from DailyMail and Chelseasite