Injuries have a profound influence on football players and clubs. Long-term injuries affect a player’s form and confidence upon their return and could ruin their career. They also disrupt team dynamics, altering strategies, and often forcing managers to reshuffle line-ups and tactics. The absence of star players can dent a club’s competitive edge, especially during crucial fixtures or challenging periods in the season. Based on a study published in BMJ (ref) approximately 136 days out due to injury causes a team the loss of one league point, and that approximately 271 days out due to injury costs a team one place in the table. On average, an EPL team loses £45 million sterling due to injury-related decrement in performance per season. Managing and mitigating these effects become pivotal in ensuring a club’s sustained success across a season.

International Breaks: Surge in Injuries; Mainly Fractures & Tears

In football, there is a belief that international breaks increase injuries. The shift in training routines, travel demands, and game intensity during these breaks can significantly affect players’ physical and physiological condition upon their return to club duties. Our goal is to assess this belief based on EPL injury data. Monitoring how these breaks correlate with injury patterns provides valuable insights into managing player workload, implementing effective recovery strategies, and minimizing the risk of injuries. Recognizing these impacts helps clubs better prepare and support their players, ensuring their fitness and reducing the likelihood of injuries caused by the international breaks. We have analyzed the injuries during the games played before and after 8 international breaks between 2021 and 2023.

After examining the statistics, it is evident that a surge in injuries takes place in the aftermath of International breaks. On average, within the two weeks following international games, there is a notable increase of 3.2 injuries compared to the usual league games. 

We have grouped the injuries into two major categories: 

• fracture & tear injury types such as Broken Leg, Knee Injury, Wrist Injury, Ankle Injury, … 
• overuse injuries, e.g. Hamstring Injury, Calf Injury, Muscle Injury, Thigh Injury, …

Fracture & tear injuries stand out as more severely affected injury types due to International breaks. Following these breaks, there is an increase of 2.8 additional fracture or tear injury per every two weeks compared to the usual occurrence during Premier League games

Key Role of Injuries within Top 5 Premier League Teams

We have analyzed the average number of sidelined players per game during the initial 13 weeks of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 English Premier League seasons. The data reveals a distinct correlation between how the top 5 teams handle injuries and their positions in the league standings. Several factors might contribute to this trend, including club manager strategies, team tactics, pre-season and in-season workout plan, the unique skills of individual players, and more. Top-tier clubs often embrace modern football styles, emphasizing possession and actively seeking spaces for their players. This dynamic approach places immense physical and physiological demands on the team. Thus, the absence of a key player due to injury can significantly impact their overall performance and final ranking in the league.

Top Ranking Clubs are Suffering more from Overuse Injuries

n the 2022/23 Premier League season, injuries were divided evenly between the two injury types: fractures & tear-related injuries and overuse injuries. Among the top 5 teams from the previous season—Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal— 58% of their injuries were attributed to overuse. In contrast, fracture & tear injury types were more prevalent among the remaining teams and accounted for 48% of their total injuries. Season’s top ranking clubs are attending in the intense Champions league and Europa leagues games and have to play more frequently. This could result in surged overuse injury types. In addition, they play modern football style with high pressing and counter pressing that puts extra pressure on players.

There is a positive side to this, as overuse injuries can be effectively handled and reduced through enhanced pre-season and in-season workout plans. Implementing analytical tools aids teams in enhancing their on-field performance and gaining a competitive edge throughout the leagues and tournaments.

Team	Fracture & Tear	Overuse	overuse (%)	2021 standing	2022 standing
Manchester City	9	9	50%	1	1
Liverpool	11	23	68%	2	5
Chelsea	19	23	55%	3	12
Tottenham	12	15	56%	4	8
Arsenal	9	14	61%	5	2
Manchester United	18	11	38%	6	3
West Ham	11	10	48%	7	14
Leicester	15	14	48%	8	18
Brighton	10	7	41%	9	6
Wolves	10	8	44%	10	13
Newcastle	14	18	56%	11	4
Crystal Palace	11	12	52%	12	11
Brentford	8	14	64%	13	9
Aston Villa	8	12	60%	14	7
Southampton	13	9	41%	15	20
Everton	14	15	52%	16	17
Leeds	18	15	45%	17	19
Fulham	13	4	24%		10
Bournemouth	15	12	44%		15
Nottingham Forest	12	15	56%		16