Brazil Star Hulk Loses Up To 11lb In Sweat Per Game And Needs Special Medical Attention

Brazilian striker Hulk can lose an incredible 11lb in sweat per game and needs "extra attention" to stay hydrated, according to his new club.

The musclebound former Brazil international returned to his native land this year, signing for Atletico Mineiro after 15 years abroad, playing in Japan, Portugal, Russia and China. Then he immediately began sweating.

Hulk's astonishing weight loss over 90 minutes has been explained by Atletico Mineiro's physio, Roberto Chiari, who said that the 34-year-old Hulk can lose up to 5 kilos - around 11lb - each match.

"He sweats a lot, that doesn't mean he is bad," said Chiari, per talkSPORT, at least reassuring us that the forward isn't in danger of wasting away.

"In fact, the athlete who sweats a lot uses the most efficient mechanism of dissipating body heat, which is through sweating. This sweat, when it evaporates, allows the athlete to lose body heat in a more efficient way. So, losing many pounds by dehydrating through sweating is not the problem.

"It just requires that we pay extra attention to hydration.

"Our masseuse, who is next to the field, already knows that at each stop in training the first player who has to receive water or isotonic is the Hulk, because he will dehydrate a lot."

So in other words, when Hulk wants to come in and smash a Lucozade, every single other player has to get out of his way so the big guy can rehydrate.

They probably don't need to be told twice.

"We realise that he has lost a lot of weight with each training session, but thanks to God it has not reached too many kilos," added Chiari.

"Perhaps due to the efficiency of our masseuses that are always there offering hydration. But to be sure of that, we have to encourage hydration after training.

"And the next day he comes back with the same weight he had before training. It's a matter of being able to take everything well and he ends up not having any damage."

Good to hear that the mighty Hulk - who marked his return to Brazilian football with a spectacular shove on an opponent - is replenished the next day.

We cannot have the striker perspiring down to the size of a normal footballer. It just wouldn't look right.

All imagery: PA Images/Instagram

Topics: Brazil

Alex Reid

Alex Reid is a writer at SPORTbible who’s previously strung words together for FourFourTwo, Boxing News, The Guardian and, yes, Cruise International (it’s about big ships, not Tom). Interests range from football and boxing to real sports like WWE and darts. He is not a cage fighter.

@otheralexreid