Chelsea experienced a 44% increase in injuries between June and October compared with the previous season, a report released on Tuesday has found. This year’s period covers their participation in the Club World Cup and its aftermath.
The figure, which goes some way towards vindicating Enzo Maresca’s rotation and his complaints about injuries, is contained in a report published by the insurance company Howden, which puts the cost of injuries to clubs in Europe’s top five leagues over the past five years at almost £3bn.
Maresca cited the impact of the Club World Cup in September when Chelsea were missing five defenders through injury and lost three successive games in the Champions League and Premier League. He made five changes last week for the Champions League defeat at Atalanta, a setback followed by cryptic comments on Saturday after a Premier League win against Everton that he had endured his “worst 48 hours” at the club owing to a lack of support from unspecified people.
The report found Chelsea had 23 injuries between 1 June and 31 October, including seven during the Club World Cup in the US, the same number as Paris Saint-Germain, whom they beat in the final.
Howden calculated the financial loss to Chelsea of players missing through injury as £17m up to October, almost a quarter of their £80m Club World Cup prize money, and more than a third of their £45m loss last season. It calculates financial loss according to wages paid to injured players.
Manchester City were found to have had the second-most injuries among Club World Cup teams, at 22, although they did not sustain any during the tournament, perhaps because they were knocked out in the last 16. PSG were found to have had 19 injuries, including seven during the Club World Cup.
Howden’s findings echo concerns expressed by the global players’ union, Fifpro, regarding workload. A Fifpro report in October showed Chelsea’s players were given 20 days off after the Club World Cup and that PSG rested their players for 22 days.
“The Howden report demonstrates the impact of pushing players to their limits through a year-round schedule of football,” the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive and Fifpro board member, Maheta Molango, said.
“Serious injuries are always going to happen if players are not given proper breaks for rest and recovery. Players are exposed to an extreme schedule at a younger and younger age. That will have an impact on their careers and their wellbeing. The current calendar makes no sense for players, fans or clubs.”
Howden has produced the Men’s European Football Injury Index for the past five years, with the report released on Tuesday calculating there have been 22,596 injuries in Europe’s top five men’s leagues over that period, costing clubs a combined £2.97bn. Premier League clubs account for 24% of these injuries, with more than £1bn paid out in salaries to injured players.
Manchester United incurred the highest injury costs of Premier League clubs at £154.5m over five years, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City above average.
The report also highlights that young players are most susceptible to injury. Premier League forwards under the age of 21 sustained an injury every 120 minutes of competitive domestic football over the past five years.
