The glittering image of soccer's English Premier League would suggest it ranks among the world's best in all facets of professional sport.

Rich in history, with famous clubs and modern facilities, to talented players and their all-night parties, heaving back accounts, sports cars and celebrity girlfriends, most sports fans would presume with confidence the EPL is a trend-setter.

But when it comes to sports science and the medical treatment of players - increasingly an important part of all professional games - it would surprise many to know the EPL lags well behind many sports, including the AFL.

Liverpool's appointment this week of Socceroos doctor Peter Brukner (pictured, above, with Harry Kewell) to head its sports medicine and sports science facility just two months after it was criticised over its poor medical treatment of Socceroos star Harry Kewell has again highlighted Australia's excellent reputation in this field.

Brukner, who has also worked for the Melbourne and Collingwood football clubs, will leave next week on a three-year deal after the Reds completed what they felt was an "exhaustive" search.

Brukner, who will work alongside Reds manager Rafael Benitez and will now be responsible for the likes of England midfielder Steven Gerrard and Spanish striker Fernando Torres, won't be the first Australian medico to work in the EPL.

Dr Chris Bradshaw, now the Geelong Football Club doctor, spent more than two years from 2004 as club doctor at Fulham, tending to the likes of midfielder Jimmy Bullard (now with Hull City after a record-breaking transfer fee last year), goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (now with Manchester United) and the now-retired Andy Cole.

Bradshaw told backpagelead.com.au he expects Brukner would have to deal with cultural change before he had success in the super-charged EPL atmosphere.

"It's certainly old-school cultural stuff. There is nowhere near the need for players to comply with recovery and all those sorts of things," Bradshaw said.

"The bottom line is the players have a lot of power over there.

"The other thing is there is not as much pressure on the players. Here if a player gets delisted, that's the end of their career it seems. It's a real body blow.

"But over there if you are being paid 35,000 pounds a week, there would be other clubs over there in Europe that would pay that for you.

"We struggled to do proper recoveries, we struggled to get them to come in on a Sunday, things like that.

"I am sure it's changed in the four years since I have left but it was kind of frustrating."

Bradshaw, who spent 12 years as doctor at Richmond Football Club before accepting the Fulham offer, said Brukner needed to surround himself with good people.

"I think it (sports science) is done quite badly in the Premier League compared with how we do things over here," he said.

"I went over there as a doctor and inherited a whole bunch of fitness guys and physios.

"If he can get some people appointed around him that he trusts and they make a good team, that will make a massive difference."

While the Reds have invested heavily in a new sports science facility, Bradshaw said EPL clubs traditionally hadn't focussed on medical departments, preferring to spend up big on acquiring marquee players and managers.

Things were so bad on occasions he even had to help the opposition team.

"When I was there (at Fulham), Portsmouth had a GP who went to the club a few hours a week and did home games only," he said.

"I had situations where I was the doctor at Fulham and I had to inject the goalkeeper from the opposition team so they could play."

Bradshaw keeps abreast of the latest in sports science and says AFL clubs are as good, if not better, than many prominent overseas leagues.

"I visited Bayern Munich (in the German Bundesliga) a couple of weeks ago and I reckon they are doing things really, really well now," he said.

"I am sure Italy and the Bundesliga are doing things quite well and the Premier League will have to catch up eventually."