Injury Incidence and Burden in 979 Player Seasons of an Elite Dutch Soccer Academy

Background: The epidemiology of injuries in youth soccer is ambiguous. Most studies are based on the consensus statement of Fuller, et al., where pediatric-specific injuries are not included. As a result, this type of injury is often neglected or categorized inconsistently. A consequence may be adhering an incorrect focus in injury prevention. This study aimed to describe injury incidence, severity and burden by age group in an elite soccer academy. Methods: We included injury data recorded over four consecutive seasons from 2017/2018 to 2020/2021 from all male youth players (under-8 to under-19) of an elite Dutch soccer academy. The outcome measures were soccer-related time-loss injury incidence (per player-season), severity (days lost) and burden (days lost per player-season). Results: We identified a total of 1,134 soccer-related time-loss injuries in 979 player-seasons of 406 individual players. The incidence was 1.2 (95% CI 1.10; 1.23) time-loss injuries per player-season, with a median severity of 13 (interquartile range; 6, 27) days lost per injury. The overall injury burden was 15 days lost per player-season (5% unavailability), with a peak in the under-16 age group of 37 days lost per player-season. Incidence peaked in the under-15 with 1.9 injuries per player-season and severity peaked in the under-16 with a median of 20 days lost per injury. Apophysitis of the knee was the most burdensome injury subtype with a peak in the under-14 age group of 11 days lost per player-season. Conclusion: The overall injury burden results in a 5% players’ unavailability for training and/or competition, with a peak in the under-16 of 12% unavailability (37 days lost per player-season), mainly due to an increase in severity.