Association between physical fitness and injury patterns in young footballers of the national football development programme in Malaysia

Introduction: Studies have explored relationship between physical fitness and injury patterns among footballers, but research focusing on young footballers in Malaysia remains limited.Objectives: To determine associations between physical fitness components (cardiorespiratory fitness, speed, agility and explosive power) and lower limb injury patterns in youth footballers from National Football Development Programme (NFDP) at Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD), Malaysia.Method: This is a cross-sectional study involving 158 footballers aged 13 to 17 years from AMD. Physical fitness was assessed through VO2max (cardiorespiratory fitness), 5-metre, 10-metre, and 20-metre sprints (speed), arrowhead agility test (agility), and countermovement jump (explosive power). Injuries were categorized into five regions: mid-body, upper-leg, knee, lower-leg, and foot-and-ankle, based on reports by the AMD physiotherapists. Descriptive statistics and k-means clustering were applied to classify players into two groups: best speed-endurance and best power-agility. Chi-square analysis examined injury occurrences.Results: Players with higher cardiorespiratory fitness had fewer injuries in mid-body but were more prone to knee injuries. Faster players showed increased injury risk across all regions, potentially due to greater acceleration-deceleration forces. Power-agility group exhibited higher risks for knee, foot, and ankle injuries, likely linked to mechanical stress of dynamic movements like jumping and pivoting.Conclusions: This study highlights potential association with increased injury risks in young players, emphasizing need for balanced training programmes that incorporate neuromuscular control and proprioception.