An audit of injuries among elite Malaysia U19 and U22 league soccer players

Abstract

Background: Knee injuries are the most common injury among Malaysian elite athletes. However, an injury profile of elite soccer players in Malaysia is yet to be determined.Aim and Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the injury characteristics among elite, male U19 and U22 soccer players.Materials and Methods: Four teams were observed throughout the 2018/2019 season, where a total of 111 players were documented in accordance with the Federation International de Football Association Medical and Research Centre accord to determine the incidence, class, severity and causation of injuries among elite, male U19 and U22 soccer players.Results: From a total of 111 players (U19: n = 58; U22: n = 53) during the 2018–2019 season, a sum of 64 injuries were reported to the team physicians of the participating teams in the current study, representing an estimated 0.58 injuries per player throughout a single season. From the total number of injuries, 57.8% (n = 37) injuries were registered to the U22 age group, whereas 42.2% (n = 27) were reported in the U19 Age Group. When factoring in the number of players in each respective age group, the number of injuries among the U22 age group was higher than the U19 age group (0.72 vs. 0.47 injuries/player/season).Conclusion: Most soccer injuries reported were lower limb injuries, newly sustained and required up to 14 days of treatment before returning to full participation in the competition. Match-play injuries appeared to be more common than training injuries, with the ankle and knee joints being the most common injury locations. Sprains and ligamentous damage were the most common injury class sustained by players.