The Impact of Match Workload and International Travel on Injuries in Professional Men’s Football
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- The players competed in one of the following five national leagues (top five UEFA association club coefficients) [20] during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 football seasons:
- Premier League (United Kingdom)
- La Liga (Spain)
- Serie A (Italy)
- Bundesliga (Germany)
- Ligue 1 (France)
- The players were embedded within the FIFPRO PWM tool during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 football seasons.
- Number of minutes played (club domestic league, club domestic cup, club international cup, club friendlies, national team competition, and national team friendlies) (min);
- Number of match appearances (club domestic league, club domestic cup, club international cup, club friendlies, national team competition, and national team friendlies) (n);
- Number of starting appearance (across the same match types) (n);
- Instances as an unused substitute, which is defined as the number of appearances on the bench without minutes played (across the same match types) (n);
- Instances of fewer than 3 days between appearances (n), which is a match fixture congestion cycle associated with a higher risk of injury [24];
- Instances of fewer than 5 days between appearances (n), which is a match fixture congestion cycle associated with a higher risk of injury [24];
- Number of critical zone matches, which is defined as an instance of feewer than 5 days between appearances, with a minimum of 45 min played in each appearance (n) [12].
- Hours spent flying (h);
- Kilometers traveled (km);
- Number of time zones crossed (n).
3. Results
3.1. Participants
3.2. Injuries
3.3. Match Workload and International Travel and Injuries
3.4. Match Workload and International Travel and Hamstring Injuries
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | 2021–2022 (n = 1743) | 2022–2023 (n = 2067) | Total (n = 3810) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
Age | 25.9 | 3.9 | 26.5 | 3.9 | 26.3 | 3.9 |
Minutes Played (min) | 326 | 159 | 305 | 169 | 315 | 165 |
Appearances (n) | 4.2 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
Appearances in Starting Eleven (n) | 3.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 1.8 |
Unused Substitute (n) | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
Rest Time (min) | 572 | 42 | 574 | 44 | 573 | 43 |
Fewer than 3 Days between Matches (n) | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
Fewer than 5 Days between Matches (n) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
Critical Zone Matches (n) | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
Distance Traveled (km) | 3234 | 5288 | 1861 | 4156 | 2489 | 4756 |
Travel Time (h) | 4.5 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 6.3 |
Time Zones Crossed (n) | 1.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
Workload Variables | Injury (n = 1270) | Control (n = 2540) | Injury vs. Control | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Mean | SD | ES | Interpretation | |
Minutes Played (min) | 337 | 164 | 303 | 164 | 0.2 * | Small |
Appearances (n) | 4.6 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 * | Small |
Appearances in Starting Eleven (n) | 3.8 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 * | Small |
Unused Substitute (n) | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.2 | −0.2 * | Small |
Rest Time (min) | 562 | 42 | 578 | 42 | −0.4 * | Small |
Fewer than 3 Days between Matches (n) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 * | Small |
Fewer than 5 Days between Matches (n) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.3 * | Small |
Critical Zone Matches (n) | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.2 * | Small |
Distance Traveled (km) | 3041 | 5218 | 2213 | 4483 | 0.2 * | Small |
Travel Time (h) | 4.2 | 6.9 | 3.1 | 5.9 | 0.2 * | Small |
Time Zones Crossed (n) | 1.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.2 * | Small |
Workload Variables | Injury (n = 260) | Control (n = 520) | Injury vs. Control | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Mean | SD | ES | Interpretation | |
Minutes Played (min) | 362 | 160 | 310 | 162 | 0.3 * | Small |
Appearances (n) | 4.9 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 * | Small |
Appearances in Starting Eleven (n) | 4.1 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.5 * | Small |
Unused Substitute (n) | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | −0.2 * | Small |
Rest Time (min) | 554 | 40 | 577 | 41 | −0.6 * | Small |
Fewer than 3 Days between Matches (n) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 * | Small |
Fewer than 5 Days between Matches (n) | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.5 * | Small |
Critical Zone Matches (n) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 * | Small |
Distance Traveled (km) | 3264 | 5299 | 2075 | 4024 | 0.3 * | Small |
Travel Time (h) | 4.5 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 5.4 | 0.3 * | Small |
Time Zones Crossed (n) | 1.6 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.2 * | Trivial |
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den Hollander, S.; Kerkhoffs, G.; Gouttebarge, V. The Impact of Match Workload and International Travel on Injuries in Professional Men’s Football. Sports 2024, 12, 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12080212
den Hollander S, Kerkhoffs G, Gouttebarge V. The Impact of Match Workload and International Travel on Injuries in Professional Men’s Football. Sports. 2024; 12(8):212. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12080212
Chicago/Turabian Styleden Hollander, Steve, Gino Kerkhoffs, and Vincent Gouttebarge. 2024. "The Impact of Match Workload and International Travel on Injuries in Professional Men’s Football" Sports 12, no. 8: 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12080212