ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2022
Return to match running performance after a hamstring injury in elite football: a single-centre retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The loading impact of training and match-play on non-contact muscle injuries in elite male soccer players. A seasonal analysis.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- How do muscle injuries relate to return-to-performance metrics in male elite football players?Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Return of match running performance following muscle strain injuries of varying severity in professional football.Biology of sport · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: To determine the number of matches to return to pre-injury match running performance after sustaining an acute hamstring injury. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the injuries of the players of the first, Under21, Under19, Under18 and Under17 teams of a professional football club in the period 2017-2020 were analysed. Acute hamstring injuries with a minimal absence from training or match play of 7 days were included. For running performance, we assessed the following variables: maximal velocity (km/hour), total distance, high-intensity distance (17.5-22.5 km/hour) and sprint distance (>22.5 km/hour). We calculated the average and 95% CI for these variables during the last five matches before the injury. The primary outcome was the number of matches to reach maximal velocity within the 95% CI of the player's individual pre-injury performance. Secondary outcome scores included the duration (in days and matches) to reach the other running performance variables. Results: 18 hamstring injuries in 15 players were included. 15 out of 18 injuries (83%) showed a return to pre-injury maximal velocity in the second match after return to play. The median number of matches to return to pre-injury maximal velocity was 2 (IQR 1-2). In the first match after return to play, pre-injury total distance was reached in 100% of the injuries, pre-injury sprint distance was reached in 94% of the injuries and pre-injury high-intensity distance was reached in 89% of the injuries. Conclusion: Following an acute hamstring injury in elite football, pre-injury match running performance is reached in the first or second match.
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