Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected injury in football? Example of a professional football team

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the injuries of football players faced with the isolation and lack of training caused by COVID-19 and an intense match tempo after stress and uncertainty between pre- and post-pandemic seasons. Methods: Injury follow-up data (number, time, severity, type, location, tissue of interest, side, mechanism, rule violation, and recurrence) of a professional football team in Turkey for the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 seasons were analysed. Results: In the 2019-2020 season, there were a total of 23 injuries, which increased after the pandemic. With a tighter match schedule, there were 31 injuries in the 2020-2021 season and 51 in the 2021-2022 season. The injury rate per match also increased to 0.53, 0.70, and 1.08, respectively. Injury severity, location of injury, tissues involved (p<0.05), mechanism of injury, and rules violations (p<0.001) were significantly different between seasons. Conclusion: The isolation period caused by the pandemic and the tight match schedules affected injury rates per match and injury characteristics. These effects continued in the post-pandemic season.