Whoa! Horse-placenta treatment raises questions

Nov 22, 2009 - 10:01 PM By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press Writer

BELGRADE, Serbia(AP) -- Nothing like a little horse placenta to cure those aches and pains.

Serbian health authorities are looking for a mysterious healer who has recently treated the injuries of several English Premier League soccer players with a cure that includes massage with horse placenta.

Marijana Kovacevic apparently has gone underground after health inspectors and police wanted to visit her private clinic in Belgrade last week. The health authorities say the pharmacology doctor turned trainer has been practicing without a license.

Kovacevic's reputation as a miracle healer for sports injuries has spread throughout the Premier League, with Arsenal's Robin van Persie and Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Fabio Aurelio and Glen Johnson traveling to Belgrade this month.

Benayoun was expected to be out for several weeks with a leg muscle injury but returned for Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Saturday, scoring the tying goal.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has a torn thigh muscle and became the latest Premier League star to seek Kovacevic's radical treatment.

The craze started when Serbia forward Danko Lazovic told Van Persie, his former PSV Eindhoven teammate, about a healer who uses unusual methods that could treat his ankle injury. Lazovic said several Serbian players, including himself, had been cured faster than expected by the massage that involves fluid from horse placenta.

"It's good, I'm happy. The woman is a miracle," Van Persie was quoted as saying last week by the Serbian newspaper Alo as he left Kovacevic's Belgrade apartment after treatment.

Kovacevic has dodged the media since her newfound fame and is not giving interviews or allowing photos of her to be taken.

"Marijana is amazing," former Serbia player Dusan Petkovic said. "She saved the careers of several Serb and foreign players. All those muscle injuries, including ruptures, she is treating without a mistake.

"She uses a combination of electricity and the miracle gel that is her exclusive product. The electric current goes through a stick holding the gel, which is applied to the injured spot."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that while he doubted the healing methods used on Van Persie, he had given him permission to have the treatment in Belgrade.

"I'm not a fan, but I'm not a doctor, either," Wenger said Friday. "I respect the freedom of everybody to be treated in the way they want to be treated."