The speed of hamstring accidents within the Premier League is about to lower this season in comparison with the 2023/24 marketing campaign, though information reveals gamers are being dominated out for longer.
is the 124th of its sort this season.
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With a mean of 4 hamstring accidents recorded each sport week – and with 4 weekends of the season left – this whole might rise to 140.
This trails final season’s whole of 163.
2024-25: 124 hamstring accidents (as of twenty eighth April)
Ben Dinnery, harm analyst and founding father of Premier Accidents Ltd, believes the information reveals an general ‘static’ development of muscle accidents – particularly hamstrings – in recent times, though the severity of hamstring accidents seems to be getting worse, with gamers being stored out for longer.
In 2023-24, greater than half (52%) of hamstring-related accidents stored gamers sidelined long run, for greater than 30 days.
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Within the 2022-23 and 2020-21 seasons, these figures had been 46% and 30%, respectively.
As of 1 January 2025, information confirmed that 52% of hamstring accidents within the Premier League had been ‘long run’ – the identical share because the 2023-24 season – however with 5 months of the season left to play.
Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, and Chelsea striker Nicholas Jackson are three high-profile gamers who’ve skilled ‘long-term’ hamstring accidents this season.
What causes hamstring accidents?
The hamstring is a gaggle of three muscle tissues that run from the underside of your pelvis to the again of your knee.
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These muscle tissues work collectively to flex the knee joint – bringing your thigh backwards or heel to your backside – and to stabilise the hip.
These are elementary actions to the operating movement, significantly dashing up and slowing down.
Accidents happen when the muscle tissues are overstretched, and tear. This will occur each throughout the hamstring muscle tissues and the tendons, the tissues that join muscle tissues to bone.
Nick Value – sports activities efficiency physiotherapist who has labored with a number of Premier League golf equipment, together with Manchester Metropolis and Fulham – says that one of many greatest indicators of a hamstring downside is having a earlier hamstring harm.
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Footballers are repeatedly making explosive actions, akin to sprinting and stopping at excessive speeds, which places excessive stress on the hamstrings.
This, on high of the cumulative impact of video games with not a lot hole in between, may cause muscle tissues to fatigue, stiffen, and tear.
Why are gamers being stored out for longer with hamstring accidents?
It’s unattainable to pinpoint a single issue.
Value says that the very first thing to take a look at is the participant’s particular person rehab programme.
The chance of re-injuring the hamstring goes down should you ‘over-rehab’ gamers and hold them out of the squad for longer.
The pace of return may even rely upon the kind of harm, with tendon-based hamstring accidents taking longer to heal.
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Final yr, participant unions and leagues accused Fifa of with regards to the worldwide soccer calendar, and the variety of video games gamers face in a season.
“Fatigue implies that the hamstring muscle tissues are ‘stiffer’ and fewer capable of carry out at excessive pace or energy – particularly when accelerating and decelerating rapidly”, Value added.
Enjoying a excessive urgent sport might expose gamers to threat elements related to hamstring accidents.
Value stated: “When gamers are anticipated to shut down opposition, successful a ball again at excessive pace, gamers might be doing extra acceleration and deceleration and that may improve the danger”.
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Hamstring harm threat might also be larger for some positions. For instance, you’d anticipate a wing-back to carry out extra explosive sprints in a sport than a centre-back, inserting the next workload on the hamstrings.
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