A report published on Tuesday found that Chelsea suffered a 44% increase in injuries between June and October compared to the previous season. This year’s period covers participation in the Club World Cup and its aftermath.
The figure, which goes some way to justifying Enzo Maresca’s rotation and his complaints about injuries, is contained in a report published by insurance company Howden, which claims that the cost of injuries to clubs in Europe’s top five leagues over the past five years has amounted to around £3bn.
Maresca cited the impact of September’s Club World Cup, when Chelsea were without five defenders due to injuries and lost three straight in the Champions League and Premier League. He made five changes to his squad for last week’s Champions League defeat to Atalanta, but following that setback, he made cryptic comments after Saturday’s Premier League win over Everton that he had had a “worst 48 hours” at the club due to a lack of support from an unspecified number of people.
According to the report, Chelsea suffered 23 injuries between June 1 and October 31, including seven during the Club World Cup in the United States, the same number as Paris Saint-Germain, whom they beat in the final.
Howden calculated Chelsea’s financial loss from players missing out through injury at £17m by October, almost a quarter of the Club World Cup prize money of £80m and more than a third of last season’s £45m loss. Calculate the economic loss according to the wages paid to the injured player.
Manchester City had the second-highest number of injuries among the teams participating in the Club World Cup, with 22, but they suffered no injuries during the tournament, probably because they were eliminated in the last 16. PSG were found to have suffered 19 injuries, including seven during the Club World Cup.
Mr Howden’s findings echo concerns expressed by global players’ union FIFPRO about workloads. Fifpro reported in October that Chelsea players were given 20 days off after the Club World Cup, while PSG rested their players for 22 days.
Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive and FIFPRO board member Maheta Molango said: “The Howden report shows the impact of pushing players to their limits throughout football’s annual schedule.”
“Serious injuries will always occur if players are not given adequate breaks to rest and recover. Players will be exposed to a demanding schedule as they get older, which will have an impact on their careers and health. The current calendar makes no sense for players, fans and clubs.”
Howden has been producing the European Men’s Soccer Injury Index for the past five years, and the report published on Tuesday calculated that there were 22,596 injuries in Europe’s top five men’s leagues during this period, costing clubs a total of £2.97bn. Premier League clubs account for 24% of these injuries, with more than £1bn being paid out in wages for injured players.
Manchester United have incurred the highest injury costs of any Premier League club over the five-year period, at £154.5m, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all above average.
The report also highlights that young players are the most prone to injury. A Premier League under-21 forward has been injured every 120 minutes of domestic football over the past five years.
