Five Premier League stars from Manchester City and Liverpool have followed in the footsteps of Arsenal's Robin van Persie by using horse placenta in an attempt to hasten recovery time from serious injuries.

The 26-year-old flew to Belgrade on Tuesday to seek out the controversial treatment with the aim of slashing his six-week recovery time in half for the ankle ligament damage he sustained whilst on international duty with Holland.

And now a whole host of injury ravaged Premier League stars have flocked to see radical physiotherapist, Mariana Kovacevic, in the hope that she can aid them in their own injury predicaments.

City trio Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong have expressed their desire for the afterbirth cure, whilst Reds' midfielders Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera were believed to have visited the special clinic on Tuesday.

The treatment involves massaging liquid from the nutrient-rich placenta of a horse directly onto the surface of the injured zone and use vibration techniques to stimulate regrowth of vital tissues.

And as more and more players reveal their hunger to have the special treatment, it seems these recent high profile cases are just the tip of the placenta iceberg.

"Mariana has been working for a few clubs quietly for a while with very successful results, but now it seems to have been brought to the public," revealed Sam Stapleton of recruitment management company Star Management Signings.

"She takes what she does very seriously, and this is reflected in her treatments."

ExtraFootie salutes Mariana Kovacevic, the Mother of Football, who heals the foetuses that are professional footballers using her horse placenta of an umbilical cord!