What are the figures?
The Football Association is currently performing an audit of all injuries suffered by professional footballers in England and Wales over the last two seasons. It will be complete at the end of the current season, when the FA will publish its findings along with recommendations for best practice to avoid injury. The study will show whether or not younger players are more prone to injury. Preliminary findings suggest they are not, but this is before the figures have been properly analysed. Richard Hawkins, of the FA’s Medical Education Unit, said they will only get a definite answer when they study is complete. He said: “Our preliminary findings show that younger players – aged 18 to 20 – suffer fewer injuries than older players in the 26 to 30 bracket. “But our figures have not yet been correlated with the number of games played, and it could be that younger players are involved in fewer games.” More definitive findings will be available following another FA survey, this time looking at
