O'Driscoll leaving Arsenal to become Liverpool Head of Medical
O'Driscoll has been at Arsenal since January 2009
Written by Simon Austin — January 16, 2020
GARY O’DRISCOLL is leaving Arsenal after 11 years to become Head of Medical Services at Liverpool.
As TGG revealed in December, Andy Massey is leaving the European champions after six and a half years to become Director of Medical at Fifa and the club have moved quickly to appoint a high-profile replacement.
O’Driscoll is a popular and highly-respected member of staff at Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, who also worked with him during his time as a player at the club, was reluctant for him to leave.
The practitioner joined the Gunners as club doctor in January 2009 before being promoted to Head of Sports Medicine in June 2017, replacing the long-serving Colin Lewin.
He has significant experience in other sports, having been Ireland rugby union team doctor, a veteran of two British and Irish Lions tours and part of the emergency aid team at the 2012 Olympics.
At Liverpool, O'Driscoll will act as first-team doctor and lead the club's medical department, which comprises doctors, physios and researchers. Aa key element of his role will be to maximise player availability through the accurate prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries.
The Gunners are currently advertising for a replacement on their official website. The Irishman is the latest high-profile departure from Arsenal’s medical and performance team. Australian Darren Burgess instigated a radical overhaul of the department during his time at the club, which resulted in physios Ben Ashworth, Andrew Rolls and James Haycock departing, along with Lewin.
Then, in June last year, Head of Elite Performance Burgess was dismissed as well. Massey is due to start his new role with Fifa on March 1st, although he is still negotiating an exit date with Liverpool.
