Dolha pays for wrong diagnosis

FC Rapid Bucuresti goalkeeper Emilian Dolha has spent an unnecessary three months on the sidelines after it was discovered that he had been taking medication for a wrongly diagnosed illness.

Mystery virus
The 22-year-old, who keeps goal for the Under-21 side and has one senior cap for Romania, was struck down by a mystery virus in October last year, soon after establishing himself as Rapid's No1, and has not played since.

Wrong medication
Last week, with his hopes of featuring before the end of the season looking forlorn, he visited a consultant in the Belgian city of Sint Truidense on the recommendation of former Rapid coach Mircea Rednic. Dr Hendrix discovered that Dolha's infection had cleared but he had been unable to recover properly after taking medication for an inflammation of the roots of the nerves, rather than for the osteoarthritis he had been suffering from.

Final rounds
Dolha, who at times was unable to feel his foot, said of the illness, which causes the joints to become still and inflamed: "It is very rare and nobody knows why it appears." Had he been correctly diagnosed initially, he could have been playing Divizia A football in January but will not now return before the middle of May, meaning he could feature in the final rounds of the championship.