'I turned up virtually broken’: Dylan Hartley on pioneering head injury treatment in Dubai

The sleek and minimalist lobby of Aviv Clinics in Jumeirah Lakes Towers could barely be any different to the average rugby dressing room, but Dylan Hartley appears perfectly at home.

The former England captain breezes through the reception area, trading hugs and handshakes with staff and patients alike, as if they are all part of his team.

He bounds over and introduces himself warmly, then seeks out a room to explain in depth what has brought him here.

There is a reason he feels so at ease with the place. Hartley recently completed three months of therapy at the clinic, which included two-hour sessions, five days per week.

He is excited to report the positive effects the treatment has had on him and hopes it can become a mandatory – or at least optional – part of aftercare for ex-sports players living with the effects of head injuries.

So enthused by it has he been, towards the end of the interview he looks down at the voice recorder and jokes: “You wouldn’t need one of those if you had this treatment.”

Hartley’s course included oxygen therapy sessions in a hyperbaric chamber, a treatment which has been proved to rebuild tissue to halt mental decline, improving alertness and physical performance.

He was approached about trying the treatment after arriving in the UAE last year to dovetail coaching Dubai Sharks with working for Access Hire.

“When I retired, I was on a mission to put myself back together, like Humpty Dumpty,” Hartley, 37, said. “I was a bit bashed up and there were things that needed doing.”

He underwent three days of assessments, after which a programme of treatment was prepared.

“It was like the exit medical I needed from professional rugby that I didn’t get, because there is no aftercare in the game,” he