Injury rates and patterns in French male professional soccer clubs: a comparison between a regular season and a season in the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

This study investigated time-loss injury occurrence and patterns between the first season (2020/21, S2) completed during the Covid-19 pandemic (longer pre-season following cancellation of the 2019/20 season but shorter duration) and a regular season (2018/19, S1) in French Ligue 1 and 2 professional soccer clubs. Epidemiological data were prospectively recorded in a national injury database by each club’s physician. In all clubs combined, the mean number of injuries per club was 31.5 and 36.6 in S2 and S1, respectively (−13.9%). Overall match injury incidence (per 1000 hours) in all clubs combined was lower in S2 versus S1 (22.23 vs 25.96, p < 0.01). In Ligue 1 clubs alone, match-play incidences for injury overall (24.92 vs 29.42), muscle strains (10.59 vs 13.24) and strains specifically in the hamstring region (4.52 vs 6.22) were lower in S2 versus S1 (all p < 0.05). No differences in the incidence of match injuries affecting the ankle and knee regions were observed. Changes in the 2020/21 season structure and duration owing to the Covid-19 pandemic seem not to have had a negative effect on injury occurrence and patterns in French professional soccer clubs.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• injuries
• incidence
• epidemiology
• soccer

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participating Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs and particularly their respective medical staff for their help with collecting data for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Requests for data sharing from appropriate researchers and entities will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Interested parties should contact Dr Emmanuel Orhant (eorhant@ fff. fr).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article

Notes on contributors

Emmanuel Orhant

Emmanuel Orhant is currently Medical Director of the French Football Federation and President of the National Association of Professional Football Club Doctors.

Jean-François Chapellier

Jean-François Chapellier is currently National Federal Doctor and President of the Covid-19 Commission for the French Football eration.

Christopher Carling

Christopher Carling is currently Head of Performance for the French Football Federation.