Howden has published the fourth edition of its Men’s European Football Injury Index, revealing a continued rise in injuries across Europe’s top five men’s football leagues during the 2023/24 season. The report shows that injury frequency and related costs have reached new highs.
The Injury Index recorded 4,123 injuries during the 2023/24 season, representing a 4% increase from the previous year. The total cost of these injuries rose by 5%, reaching €732.02 million. Over the last four seasons, clubs in the top five European men’s leagues have accumulated 14,292 injuries, resulting in injury costs of €2.3 billion.
This year’s report is released as concerns over fixture congestion grow. Several football players have raised concerns about the physical demands of an increasingly congested match schedule, with some even suggesting strike action.
The report places a particular focus on the English Premier League (EPL), which continues to experience higher-than-average injury costs. Injury-related expenses in the EPL accounted for 44% of the total across the five leagues, an increase from 42% in the 2022/23 season.
The EPL recorded 915 injuries at a total cost of €318.8 million. Injury frequency in the EPL stood out, with clubs facing an injury every 94 minutes of competitive football, translating to a cost of €3,698 per minute.
Wolves and Crystal Palace were the only EPL teams, of those that competed in each of the last four seasons, to consistently report below-average injury rates. On the other hand, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool experienced injury levels consistently above the league average.
Across the five European leagues, injuries occurred every 92 minutes on average during the 2023/24 season. A total of 96 clubs participated in 4,232 matches, with an average of 0.97 injuries per match. The financial burden on teams averaged €172,975 per match and €1,922 per minute. Some teams faced particularly high injury frequencies, with Bundesliga’s Darmstadt recording an injury every 33 minutes.
In contrast, Ligue 1’s Toulouse saw the longest interval between injuries, with one injury occurring every 338 minutes. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both reported injury frequencies that exceeded the Bundesliga average, leading to significant costs.
The report also identified concerns around the increasing severity of injuries among younger players. In the 2023/24 season, players under 21 in the EPL missed an average of 44 days per injury, a 187% rise compared to the 2020/21 season.
U21 players in Serie A and the EPL experienced the most substantial increases in injury severity, with Italy’s Serie A reporting an average of 35.16 days sidelined per injury.
James Burrows (pictured above), head of sport at Howden, noted that the 2023/24 Men’s European Football Injury Index reflects the growing physical demands on footballers.
“As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods, with a notable 5% rise in injury costs this season alone,” he said.
The report's release follows a formal complaint lodged by a players' union and European leagues with the European Union against FIFA, the sport’s world governing body.
A separate report highlighted that the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, up from seven teams, has been met with ongoing resistance due to concerns over player welfare since the new format was announced last year.
Last month, Manchester City midfielder Rodri warned that players were nearing the point of strike action in response to the increasing demands placed on them, including the expanded Champions League this year. The Spain international sustained a season-ending knee injury just days after making those remarks.
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