Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38710914›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2024

Return to Play and Performance After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review of Recent Evidence.

Marko Manojlovic, Srdjan Ninkovic, Radenko Matic, Sime Versic, Toni Modric, Damir Sekulic, Patrik Drid

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  19. Sport-specific differences in ACL injury, treatment and return to sports: Football.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Marko ManojlovicFaculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia. markomanojlovic1995@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-2373-1028
Srdjan NinkovicFaculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.ORCID 0000-0003-3044-9231
Radenko MaticFaculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.ORCID 0000-0002-3059-2719
Sime VersicFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0001-7203-0776
Toni ModricFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0003-1652-619X
Damir SekulicFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0001-8022-7886
Patrik DridFaculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.ORCID 0000-0002-2075-6038

Funding

Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific Research 142-451-3098
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe available literature referring to the return to play (RTP) and performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) has already been comprehensively summarized in team sports such as basketball or American Football. Therefore, in this sense, it is necessary to synthesize evidence relating to the mentioned parameters in soccer players who underwent ACLR.

objectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to examine RTP and the performance of soccer players after ACLR.

methodsThree electronic databases, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, have been comprehensively searched to identify relevant articles. The following inclusion criteria were applied: (1) the sample of respondents consisted of soccer players irrespective of their age, sex, or level of competition; (2) athletes experienced anterior cruciate ligament injury and underwent ACLR; (3) outcomes estimated referred to the RTP, RTP at the preinjury level of competition, RTP time, performance, and career duration of soccer players; (4) studies were written in the English language. The methodological quality of the research was evaluated using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS).

resultsDatabases searched yielded a total of 694 studies, of which 17 fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis. These included 3657 soccer players, 2845 males and 812 females, who underwent ACLR and most commonly competed at the elite, national, amateur, and recreational levels. The results obtained indicated that 72% of soccer players successfully RTP and 53% RTP at the preinjury level of participation after ACLR. In addition, recent evidence provided in this literature review demonstrated that mean RTP time was 264 days or 8.7 months. Moreover, the majority of the studies unambiguously suggested that performance related to statistical aspects noticeably deteriorated compared with both the preinjury period and noninjured athletes. The mean career length of soccer players following ACL surgery was approximately between 4 and 5 years.

conclusionAlthough a high percentage of athletes RTP after a relatively short period of absence from the sports field compared with other sports closely related to soccer, ACLR negatively impacts soccer players' performance and career duration.

Indexed as

Anterior Cruciate Ligament InjuriesAnterior Cruciate Ligament ReconstructionAthletic PerformanceReturn to SportSoccerHumans

Identifiers

PMID38710914
PMCPMC11329701

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.