ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2025
ACL Injuries in Major League Soccer: A 10-Year Analysis of Injury Rate and Return to Play, and Performance Metrics by Player Position.
Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of playing position on ACL injury characteristics, risk and career outcomes in football-An analysis of 742 cases of the anterior cruciate ligament registry in German football.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Article
- Achilles Tendon Injuries in Major League Soccer: A 10-year Analysis of Injury Rate, Return to Play, and Performance Metrics.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most debilitating injuries in professional soccer, often leading to extended recovery times and performance impacts. While much is known about ACL injury outcomes in European leagues, data specific to the Major League Soccer (MLS) remains limited. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study aimed to assess the return to play (RTP) times, RTP rates, and performance outcomes after ACL reconstruction in MLS athletes. It was hypothesized that RTP times would improve over the study period and that player performance would stabilize by the third post-injury season, consistent with findings from other professional soccer leagues. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The MLS Injury Surveillance database was queried for ACL injuries from 2010 to 2021. Player characteristics, injury characteristics, and performance metrics were collected for 132 players with ACL injuries and compared with 396 uninjured controls matched by age, position, and seasons played. The injured cohort was divided into 2 groups: 2010-2015 and 2016-2021 to compare changes in RTP times, performance outcomes, and trends over time. RTP was defined as participation in at least 1 MLS match after injury. Statistical analyses, including the chi-square and Results: RTP time decreased significantly from 269.6 days (2009-2015) to 219 days (2016-2021) ( Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that while overall RTP times have improved, position-specific performance outcomes vary significantly, with forwards exhibiting long-term deficits compared with midfielders and defenders. These findings suggest that position-specific rehabilitation protocols may be beneficial for athlete education in RTP and for potential prevention strategies.
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