Injury Analysis in Professional Soccer by Means of Media Reports – Only Severe Injury Types Show High Validity

PURPOSE: Injury data of professional soccer players obtained from media reports are frequently used in scientific research, but the accuracy of such data is still unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Injuries of professional soccer players of the German first and second league were documented by continuously screening media reports over one season (2015–2016). After the season, the validity of media-reported injuries was anonymously analyzed by the team physicians of 8 different soccer clubs. RESULTS: A total of 255 injuries of 240 players of 8 professional soccer teams had been published online, of which 146 were confirmed by the team doctors as correct, yielding a rate of 57.3% of confirmed media-reported injuries. In addition, 92 injuries without media registration were detected and added to the online statistics, resulting in 347 injuries and an overall weak validity of media-based data of 42.1%. Statistical analysis showed that the validity of media-reported injury data depended on both the individual soccer club and the body site affected by injury: publications on knee injuries (78.2%) had a higher validity than those on foot injuries (46.2%), and publications on severe injuries had a higher validity (joint dislocation: 100%; ligament rupture: 82.9%; fracture: 73.3%) than those on minor injuries. Publications on specific severe soccer injuries, such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, had a validity of 100%. CONCLUSION: Media-based injury data were only valid for a few severe injury types such as ACL injuries. In daily soccer routine and scientific research, media-based data should thus only be used in combination with specific criteria or verification processes.