Injuries affect team performance negatively in professional football: an 11-year follow-up of the UEFA Champions League injury study

Abstract

Background The influence of injuries on team performance in football has only been scarcely investigated. Aim To study the association between injury rates and team performance in the domestic league play, and in European cups, in male professional football. Methods 24 football teams from nine European countries were followed prospectively for 11 seasons (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012), including 155 team-seasons. Individual training and match exposure and time-loss injuries were registered. To analyse the effect of injury rates on performance, a Generalised Estimating Equation was used to fit a linear regression on team-level data. Each team's season injury rate and performance were evaluated using its own preceding season data for comparison in the analyses.

How, When, and Where do Football Players get Injured?: a Descriptive Epidemiological Study on Male Professional Football Players in Spain for Four Seasons

“…In relation to injury severity, the same as in the other studies (5,20,23,30), it was confirmed that the injury frequency decreases with increasing injury severity. In football training sessions, minor injuries such as bumps and muscle overload are quite common.…”

“…This is because the injured player´s participation is either completely interrupted or modified. The team suffers a setback consequent upon the alteration of training sessions (4,5).…”

Squad management, injury and match performance in a professional soccer team over a championship‐winning season

“…Similar research in Icelandic (Arnason et al, 2004) and Qatari (Eirale et al, 2013) elite soccer has also identified an association between league rankings and injury rates. Hägglund et al (2013) reported that lower injury incidence and player availability had a significant influence on points won per match in domestic league competition in 24 top flight male European professional soccer clubs. Interestingly, the highest injury incidences (match and training) in the reference club were observed in the first season (2008/09).…”

“…Injury occurrence notably, results in decreased player availability and subsequent non-participation in match-play potentially impacts on team performance although contradictory observations exist (Árnason et al, 2004;Dauty & Collon, 2011;Eirale, Tol, Farooq, Smiley, & Chalabi, 2013;Hägglund et al 2013). The association between squad management, player availability and injury and success in professional soccer therefore warrants further attention.…”

The Efficacy of Exercise in Preventing Injury in Adult Male Football: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

“…Top European clubs have a mean of 14% of a squad unavailable due to injury at any one time, with players experiencing a mean of two injuries a season [4,5]. This could have a significant impact on team performance and results [6], which in turn could have financial implications for clubs [7,8].…”