ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2023
No difference in return to play rates between different elite sports after primary autograft ACL reconstruction.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- The majority of elite and professional athletes return to the preinjury level of activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Pooled it
- Slower but Not Safer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Return to Play and Graft Re-Rupture After ACL Reconstruction in Professional Soccer Players.Sports medicine - open · 2025Pooled it
- No clear association between time to return-to-play and first additional injury in European professional football players after ACL injury: A media-based study.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
- Anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention: who is responsible for implementation and what are the challenges?Bone & joint open · 2026Article
- Psychological Readiness in Elite Versus Nonelite Athletes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Return to sport after ACL reconstruction, meniscus and cartilage surgeries in professional soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Knee surgery & related research · 2026Review
- Sport-Specific Considerations in ACL Reconstruction: Diagnostic Evaluation and Graft Selection.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Surgical and conservative management of medial plica syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of functional outcomes.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Review
- Clinical Outcomes of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Gaelic Games Players.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Return to competition after ACL reconstruction: Factors influencing rates and timing in Swedish football players.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025Article
- Article
- 12.5% of all women's and 7.7% of all men's players from the 2022 and 2023 FIFA World Cups underwent a previous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Higher Unilateral Muscle Imbalance at the Contralateral Knee 6 Months after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo demonstrate return to play (RTP) rates, the level of RTP and time taken to RTP in different sports after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) and compare the differences between football and rugby. The secondary aims were to compare the differences in intra articular injuries and their treatments and reoperation rates between these sports.
methodsA retrospective review of a consecutive series of all primary ACL-R undertaken by the senior author between 2005 and 2019 was undertaken. Patients were included if they were elite athletes and were a minimum of 2 year post-primary autograft ACL-R. The outcomes measured were RTP (defined as participation in a professional match or in national/international-level competition in amateur sports), time to RTP after surgery and RTP level (Tegner score).
resultsThree hundred and ninety-four elite athletes, with 420 ACL-Rs were included. 235 (55.9%) were in footballers and 125 (29.8%) were in rugby players. 399 (95.0%) of all elite athletes returned to competition at an average of 10.3 months after ACL-R. 386 (90.2% played at the same or higher level post-surgery. Although there was no difference in RTP rates between different sports, rugby players RTP significantly faster than footballers (9.6 vs 10.6 months, (p = 0.027). Footballers were more likely to rupture their ACL during jumping/landing manoeuvres and to receive a PT graft than rugby players. There were no other significant differences between football and rugby players regarding patient characteristics, intraoperative findings, re-rupture and re-operation rates.
conclusionsOver 95% of all elite athletes RTP after primary ACL-R with 90% able to play at the same level. Rugby players RTP significantly faster than footballers. LEVEL OF EVIENCE: Level IV.
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Registered trials
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