A new research report has revealed that the risk of a footballer sustaining an injury is heightened during a 15-minute danger zone between the 60th and 75th minute of a match.
The findings in the ‘Real Injury Time’ report, which reveals that this period is when one-third of total match injuries occur, have recently been evidenced by one of Arsenal’s top players.
Gabriel Magalhaes has twice succumbed to the ‘real injury time’ this season. A hamstring injury forced him off in the 75th minute of the Champions League match against Olympiacos in October.
A similar issue resulted in the defender being withdrawn around the hour mark of Brazil’s friendly against Senegal in the middle of November.
Gabriel is unlikely to return for Arsenal until January, and his absence is a significant blow to their hopes of maintaining their excellent run of form.
While the Brazilian centre-back will eventually return to action, his injury issues highlight a worrying trend which has developed in the Premier League.
The 2023/24 men’s European football season produced a record 4,123 injuries, with the English top flight accounting for 915 of the overall total.
Manager Mikel Arteta has previously expressed frustration at the fixtures schedule, and raised the issue again following Arsenal’s 2-0 home victory over Brentford on Wednesday.
Having been hit by injuries to several key players this season, the Gunners suffered another couple of setbacks as Cristhian Mosquera and Declan Rice had to come off against the Bees.
Arteta called on the football authorities to do more to protect players, particularly those who feature for the clubs who are playing in UEFA’s competitions.
“It’s probably not one thing, but we can help the players and everybody in the league and everybody to do what we have to do, give it another day – especially the teams that are playing so much in Europe,” he told the club’s official website.
“To everybody in general, I think we can do that because we’re going to benefit from that. We’ve never had such a schedule on every level, not only in the Premier League, but every competition internationally as well
“So, we need to try to do that, please. I think it’s common sense. I think at some point this becomes too much, you know, and the players are not machines. But we have to try to do that when we can.”
Arteta’s comments are unlikely to garner too much sympathy from the people who believe that top clubs have the squad resources to cope with the demands being placed on them.
However, given the lucrative nature of professional football at the highest level, players are often rushed back to action before they are ready to return.
The ‘Real Injury Time’ report, which is based on a review of the literature by sports injury expert Dr Sean Williams from the University of Bath, believes this is counter-productive.
Sports scientists, physiotherapists and pain experts agree that injury time should be managed through a structured approach to the recovery process.
This includes the use of anti-inflammatory medications such as Naprosyn Pain Relief to tackle pain and swelling before gradually increasing the intensity of rehab exercises.
“The evidence shows that following a structured, phase-based approach to rehabilitation, rather than rushing back too quickly, is crucial for safe return to play,” Dr Williams said.
“This means protecting the injury initially, then progressively building strength and function before returning to full training and matches. Professional or amateur, the rehabilitation principles are the same.”
