Injuries can negatively impact the development of academy footballers through time lost from training and matches. Reducing injury risk is therefore a priority. This study analysed 545 male players (U11-U18; age range 9-17) across five academies in Club Academy Scotland (CAS) during the 2024/2025 competitive season. Injury incidence (per 1000 hours), severity (mean and median days lost), and burden (days missed per 1000 hours) were recorded for both contact and non-contact injuries. Exposure included all training and match hours. Overall injury incidence, severity, and burden were substantially higher in matches than in training (8.53 vs. 2.21 per 1000 hours, 28 vs. 20 days, and 236 vs. 44 days lost per 1000 hours, respectively). The U14 age group recorded the highest match injury incidence and burden (15.95 per 1000 hours and 510 days lost per 1000 hours). In training, non-contact injuries occurred more frequently than contact injuries (1.78 vs. 0.43 per 1000 hours), predominantly affecting the knee and ankle/heel. Muscle tears and sprains were the most common injury types. The high proportion of non-contact lower limb injuries suggests that targeted neuromuscular training programmes may be beneficial, particularly for mid-adolescent players. .
Curnyn et al. (Wed,) studied this question.