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Insight
On the day that former Manchester Unit-
ed youth squad player Ben Collett was awarded
£4.3 million in damages for a “negligent” tackle,
a London based actuarial and business consult-
ant issued a research report that shows that
players in the English Premier League (EPL) are
more likely to pick up serious injuries than any
other league.
EMB’s research was based on injury pat-
terns of players who took part in Euro 2004 and
the FIFA World Cups of 2002 and 2006 and
comparing them with players who did not take
part. It estimated that the extra injuries picked
up this season as a result of Euro 2008 are likely
to cost clubs, and their insurers, between £10 m
and £15 m.
The EPL supplied more players to Euro
2008 than any other league except the German
Bundesliga. But in addition to the gruelling
domestic schedule, the demands of European
Championship football and the lack of a winter
break, the players from the EPL are more likely
to sustain injury than any other players.
EMBs research showed that the season that
follows a major tournament will have an impact
on the number of injuries. The players involved
are likely to have a 35% greater chance of injury
than their colleagues who did not participate. In
particular:
Key players will be most susceptible. This
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is likely because they will be on the pitch
longer than many of their colleagues.
It also means that as these players tend
to earn the highest salaries the claims
associated with these players will be higher;
The effect of playing in the tournament
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does not immediately lead to increased
injuries. In fact, probably due to higher
fitness levels that the players have
maintained during the tournament, their
levels of injury are slightly lower initially.
However,astheseasonwearson,theybecome
more prone to injury as the impact of not
having a sufficiently long break takes its toll;
Not surprisingly, younger players are
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less prone to injury and tend to recover
faster. However, the research showed
that the age when a player becomes more
likely to sustain injury is 26. Contrary to
popular belief, the risk of injury does not
go up with age after then. This is possibly
because most of the injury prone
players will already have dropped out of
the EPL and those still playing may be
more experienced and take better
care of themselves;
Teams in the European Champions League
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are more likely to suffer long term injury
problems with players. This is probably
because of the greater number of games
played and the high level of the competition.
The Uefa Cup does not impact on players;
Being an outfield player increases your
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risk of injury by 30% over playing in goal;
The training methods in some clubs may
have a significant impact on the level of
injuries. For example, Tottenham Hotspur
had 37% more long-term injuries than
the EPL average, even though they did
not compete in the Champions League;
By resting players, coaches have a better
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chance of reducing the likelihood of injury.
Also, players who have an enforced rest
period for several matches because of red or
yellow cards are probably doing themselves
and their clubs a favour by being less likely
to be injured.
This research provides a real insight into the
impact on players of playing an increasing
number of games. It brings into question the
suggestion by some in the EPL hierarchy that
the number of games played should be increased
with an additional game being played outside
of Europe. For Ben Collett and others who are
the victims of reckless tackles which results in
the end of their career, however, it will be little
consolation.
Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the
Professional Footballers Association said
about the award, “ It sends out a message to
everyone about the duty of care they have to
their opponents. Football is a very competitive
sport and accidents do happen but you should
always play within the laws of the game”.
Best League in the world is also the
most injury prone
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