T
he overall level of injury for a professional footballer has
been reported to be about 1000 times higher than that of
a high risk industrial worker.
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A research group at the
Football Association of England evaluated the risk and
pattern of injuries in professional English football.
1–6
The
results showed that each injury caused, on average, absence
from four matches, and that each week about 10% of a squad
was unable to train because of injury.
4
The financial loss
attributable to absence of injured players during the 1999/
2000 season in the English football leagues (92 clubs) was
calculated to be about 125 million euros, an average of 1.4
million euros per team.
4