Sudden burst of ACL injuries

Brwned

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I think that's Courtois, Militao and Timber injured in the first week of the season?

Is this just pure coincidence, or could it be a sign of players being pushed past their limits with the mid-season World Cup and short summer breaks?
 
It's the same amount of football as always.

0.5 club football season + World Cup + 0.5 club football season == 1.0 club football season + World Cup

In any case, Timber and Militao only played 4 games at the WC. Courtois played 3.

I think it's just random bad luck.
 
I think that's Courtois, Militao and Timberon injured in the first week of the season?

Is this just pure coincidence, or could it be a sign of players being pushed past their limits with the mid-season World Cup and short summer breaks?

I think it’s just how a random distribution of unlikely events looks.

The only factor I can think that would would be relevant is hard pitches in the summer.
 
It could easily be a coincidence, but the sheer number of games (increasing every season it would seem) with little in the way of a sustained rest period surely must be a contributing factor?

All of them are seasoned internationals, too.
 
I don't think that would cause ACL injuries, but rather more muscle injuries, but maybe doctors of redcafe can teach us something more?
 
Only seen an increase in the last 2-3 year. Wonder what has changed?
 
it’s a hugely hot topic in the female fame at the moment.

the list of top players out, or just coming back with ACL’s is shocking. Leah Williamson, Beth Mead. Vivianne Miedema, France's Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Canada's Janine Beckie, and the American pair of Christen Press and Catarina Macario. Not to mention Ballon d’or winner Putellas who has just made it in time for the World Cup.

Debate whether it’s linked to too much football (euros just finished, straight into the season and now the WC) or whether it’s to do with the football boots they wear being designed for men when women tend to have different shape / apparent hormone levels affecting the body at certain times of the month.

but thought I’d throw it into the spanner if we’re discussing ACL injures
 
I think we would need a much larger sample size to be able to tell if the number of ACL injuries actually went up in recent years. For instance, how have they trended if we look across all European top divisions, or across the top four English divisions?
 
I think that's Courtois, Militao and Timber injured in the first week of the season?

Is this just pure coincidence, or could it be a sign of players being pushed past their limits with the mid-season World Cup and short summer breaks?

Think you can add Mings and Buendia to that list too. My friend who works as a doctor for Aston Villa said they had 4 ACL injuries among their U18 and U21 sides last season too.

He reckons players are playing/training too much.
 
I think we would need a much larger sample size to be able to tell if the number of ACL injuries actually went up in recent years. For instance, how have they trended if we look across all European top divisions, or across the top four English divisions?
Exactly this.

The fact it's affected Real Madrid and Arsenal makes it a more visible phenomenon this year. But, really, it should be equally affecting midtable players who went to Qatar as well. If not, it's a vividness bias. Though we'd need to some stats to be able to tell. Anecdotes don't prove anything.
 
Boots? These new “non slip” socks everyone seems to be using? The proliferation of semi artificial pitches?
 
I think we would need a much larger sample size to be able to tell if the number of ACL injuries actually went up in recent years. For instance, how have they trended if we look across all European top divisions, or across the top four English divisions?
From March to May we had in our Estonian League also at least 3 "known players" get ACL and one ACL+MCL tear as we played on artificial pitches back then before it got warm enough.
 
I don't know the answer but I do know the sheer amount of pain and inflammation injections and medications players use now pushes their bodies to the limit. A muscular injury won't be healed properly but the player will be medicated up to get them through games until the summer when they can rest.
 
I don't think that would cause ACL injuries, but rather more muscle injuries, but maybe doctors of redcafe can teach us something more?
As a fully certified redcaf Doctor, an interesting stat for you is that the bulk (25%) of all ACL injuries happen at the start of the season Aug-Oct.
 
It's the same amount of football as always.

0.5 club football season + World Cup + 0.5 club football season == 1.0 club football season + World Cup

In any case, Timber and Militao only played 4 games at the WC. Courtois played 3.

I think it's just random bad luck.
I've no idea if fatigue can be this long term, but there's surely a compression of the seasons due to the Covid suspension?

19-20 we played a ridiculous amount of games in a short period of time to make up for lost time.
Then relatively quickly back into the 20-21 Premier league, which ran from Sept 2020 to May 2021. Euros in the summer. Then 2022 Season with a winter world cup.
 
it’s a hugely hot topic in the female fame at the moment.

the list of top players out, or just coming back with ACL’s is shocking. Leah Williamson, Beth Mead. Vivianne Miedema, France's Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Canada's Janine Beckie, and the American pair of Christen Press and Catarina Macario. Not to mention Ballon d’or winner Putellas who has just made it in time for the World Cup.

Debate whether it’s linked to too much football (euros just finished, straight into the season and now the WC) or whether it’s to do with the football boots they wear being designed for men when women tend to have different shape / apparent hormone levels affecting the body at certain times of the month.

but thought I’d throw it into the spanner if we’re discussing ACL injures
Saw a specialist in a TikTok video explaining the physiological differences between men and women footballers. They are more much more likely to suffer from knee injuries because of physiological differences.

Edit: this tifo short isn't the same video I watched but covers the topic https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLbAogWM/
 
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i do think the list will increase significantly this season when addition time increase around 10% overall game time after a World Cup year.
 
It's the same amount of football as always.

0.5 club football season + World Cup + 0.5 club football season == 1.0 club football season + World Cup

In any case, Timber and Militao only played 4 games at the WC. Courtois played 3.

I think it's just random bad luck.

Season was compressed though. The games were coming thick and fast.
 

Probably something to do with kids staying in the house playing in the computer or watching TV, rather than going out and strengthening their limbs via walking, moving, climbing, playing, etc.

Just like we used to have really strong immune system by playing in the streets, getting dirty, throwing dog poop at other kids, etc. But now, kids are over-protected and get decked by the simplest of viruses.

So yeah, my theory is indoor kids are weak as feck.
 
There isn't "more football than ever", look at 2001-2003 an extra 4 CL games plus FA Cup replays.

But it's probably more intense.
 
As a fully certified redcaf Doctor, an interesting stat for you is that the bulk (25%) of all ACL injuries happen at the start of the season Aug-Oct.

Do you have the rest of the breakdown? Because 25% per first 3 months of football (a quarter) isn't the bulk but rather an equal distribution across the year.
 
i do think the list will increase significantly this season when addition time increase around 10% overall game time after a World Cup year.

It hasn't increased on the past, though. I think people are forgetting that the time used by VAR has never been accounted for in matches; play time in each match is lower than ever.

In this case, it is probably just coincidence that some higher profile players have had it; the numbers are likely similar.
 
Going from full throttle, to resting for 4-5 weeks to full throttle is going to have its implications, especially on muscular fatigue whilst the body gets used to the rigours again. Any muscles which support the knee becoming fatigued yet asked to give more, it's only going to end one way, it's how I did my knee.