Injuries Following COVID-19 Infection in Academy-level Male Youth Soccer Players

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Injury data is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.
• Most COVID-19 pandemic research compares pre- and during-pandemic injuries.
• Few studies examine injuries based on infection status, especially in academy settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between COVID-19 infection and injury rates in male youth developmental soccer players.
• To compare injury incidence, type, location, severity, mechanism, and mode of play between infected and uninfected athletes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 141 male youth soccer players from a US developmental academy during Spring 2022.
• Prospective injury data collection, retrospectively analyzed.
• Comparison of injury rates (per 1000 playing hours) and characteristics between COVID-19-positive and -negative athletes.

Main Results:

• 24.11% of athletes tested positive for COVID-19.
• COVID-19-positive athletes had significantly higher injury rates (7.10/1000 hours) than uninfected athletes (2.71/1000 hours).
• Infected players were 2.78 times more likely to sustain an injury post-infection; injury patterns were similar between groups.

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 infection is associated with a significant increase in injury rates among academy-level youth soccer players.
• Injury characteristics (type, location, severity, mechanism) did not differ significantly between infected and uninfected groups.
• Findings emphasize the need for targeted injury prevention strategies post-COVID-19 infection in young athletes.