Key result
The post-COVID-19 lockdown period with increased match frequency resulted in a significantly higher match injury rate (0.56 vs 0.39 injuries/1000 exposure-hours) compared to the pre-lockdown period.
Why the study?
Injury rates in professional soccer players may be influenced by match frequency, prompting evaluation of how COVID-19-related schedule changes affected injuries in Italian Serie A.
Does a compressed match schedule after COVID-19 lockdown increase injury rates in professional soccer players?
Observational (n=763)
Yes
Does a compressed match schedule after COVID-19 lockdown increase injury rates in professional soccer players?
Absolute Event Rate: 0.56% vs 0.39%
p-value: p=<.05
A compressed match schedule following the COVID-19 lockdown significantly increased both training and match-related injury rates among professional soccer players.
Compressed schedules may raise match injury risk in professional soccer; leaves open causal confirmation and mitigation via prospective trials.
Background: The injury rate in professional soccer players may be influenced by match frequency. Purpose: To assess how changes in match frequency that occurred because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) influenced training and match injuries in the Italian Serie A league. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Three phases in the Serie A league, each 41 days long, were evaluated: phase A was the beginning of the 2019-2020 season; phase B was a period after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted, when the remaining matches of the season were played with greater frequency; and phase C was the beginning of the 2020-2021 season. All male professional soccer players who were injured during the 3 phases were included. Player age, height, position, injury history, and return to play (RTP) were retrieved from a publicly available website. Training- and match-related injuries during each of the 3 phases were collected and compared. Moreover, match injuries that occurred after the lockdown phase (phase B), in which there were 12 days designated for playing matches (“match-days”), were compared with injuries in the first 12 match-days of phases A and C. Results: When comparing 41-day periods, we observed the injury burden (per 1000 exposure-hours) was significantly lower in phase B (278.99 days absent) than in phase A (425.4 days absent; P < .05) and phase C (484.76 days absent; P < .05). A longer mean RTP period was recorded in phase A than in phase B (44.6 vs 23.1 days; P < .05). Regarding 12–match day periods (81 days in phase A, 41 days in phase B, and 89 days in phase C), there was a significantly higher match injury rate (0.56 vs 0.39 injuries/1000 exposure-hours; P < .05) and incidence (11.8% vs 9.3%; P < .05) in phase B than in phase A and a longer mean RTP period in phase A than in phase B (41.8 vs 23.1 days; P < .05). Finally, the rate and incidence of training-related injuries were significantly higher in phase B (4.6 injuries/1000 exposure-hours and 6.5, respectively) than in phase A (1.41 injuries/1000 exposure-hours and 2.04, respectively) ( P < .05). Conclusion: Both training- and match-related injuries were greater during the abbreviated period after the COVID-19 lockdown. These may be linked to the greater match frequency of that period.
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Mazza et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Sports injuries in professional soccer (n=763). Post-COVID-19 lockdown match congestion (Phase B) vs. Pre-lockdown (Phase A) and subsequent season (Phase C) was evaluated on Match injury rate (injuries per 1000 exposure-hours) over a 12-match day period (p=<.05). The post-COVID-19 lockdown period with increased match frequency resulted in a significantly higher match injury rate (0.56 vs 0.39 injuries/1000 exposure-hours) compared to the pre-lockdown period.
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