Return to play time for the 30 most common injuries in the UEFA Women's Elite Club Injury Study

Our aim was to describe the absence days caused by the 30 most frequent injury diagnoses in elite European women's club football.

Members of the medical staff in football clubs participating in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Women's Elite Club Injury Study (WECIS) reported injury occurrences from a total of 72 team-seasons. Injury absence was defined as the number of days between injury occurrence and when the injured player was allowed to return to full participation by the medical team.

In total, 2 390 injuries were registered and included in the study. Sixty-six per cent of these injuries were included among the 30 most common injury diagnoses. Most of the injuries included among the 30 most common were mild leading to a median absence of 7 days or less in 397 cases (23%) or moderate leading to a median absence of 7-28 days in 1177 cases (69%). Severe injuries accounted for a median absence of ≥28 days in 140 cases (8%) were less common and included only four diagnoses, all related to knee injuries. These four diagnoses, however, caused 35% of all absence during the study period.

Most of the time lost due to injuries in elite European women's football teams results from moderate and severe injuries. This article provides guidelines for expected time-loss for the most common injury types in women's professional football and will aid clinicians to make more accurate estimations of when players can be expected to return to participation following injuries.