Last update:
24-Jul-2020

OBJECTIVE To investigate the injury profile of the players of a professional Greek football team that competes in the domestic Greek and European leagues.

METHOD An observational prospective study was carried out at the club soccer performance laboratory, involving a total of 123 professional football players. Data were collected over three consecutive seasons, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, on 38, 41 and 44 subjects/players, respectively. Their injuries were recorded and assessed, and the clinical injury and rehabilitation rates were estimated.

RESULTS The recorded injury prevalence according to season was 78.9% in 2015/2016, 73.2% in 2016/2017 and 75% in 2017/2018, and the mean number of injuries per injured player was 2.6, 1.9, and 2.5, respectively (p>0.05). Τhe clinical incidence was lower in 2016/2017 with 1.39 injuries/player compared with 2.05 injuries/player in 2015/2016 and 1.89 in 2017/2018. The injury incidence in 2016/2017 was 83 injuries/1,000 match exposure hours compared with 137 in 2017/2018 (p<0.05). Rehabilitation days were also recorded, and the highest mean was 49.1 days/injured player in 2015/2016, compared with 18.6 in 2016/2017 and 20.9 in 2017/2018 (p<0.05). The mean rehabilitation days per injury decreased in the third season, from 18.9 days in 2015/2016 to 8.3 days in 2017/2018 (p<0.05). The highest prevalence of "major/severe" injuries (50%) was also recorded in 2015/2016, decreasing significantly in the 2017/2018 season, as did the incidence of lower limb injuries (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS Without major changes between the three seasons, about 8 in 10 professional soccer players were affected by injuries, reflecting the high level of competitive demands with a high risk of injury during the football season. Monitoring of injuries will provide the basis for preventive strategies.

Key words: Footballers, Incidence, Injury, Lower limbs, Rehabilitation.