Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy
Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 12/2023

Open Access 18-10-2023 | Achilles Tendon Rupture | ANKLE

Return-to-performance in elite soccer players after Achilles tendon ruptures: a study using a weighted plus/minus metric and matched-control analysis

Authors: Pedro Diniz, Diogo Lacerda, Bruno Mendes, Hélder Pereira, Frederico Castelo Ferreira, Gino M. M. J. Kerkhoffs

Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy | Issue 12/2023

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose

Studies have shown decreased match participation and shortened careers in athletes suffering Achilles tendon ruptures (ATRs), but assessment using a true performance metric is lacking. Plus/minus (PM) metrics provide a practical and objective approach to player performance assessment and are commonly used in other sports. This study aimed to quantify and compare individual player performance variations in elite football league players who sustained ATRs and returned to play within 1 year compared to those without ATRs, using a PM metric.

Methods

Player and team data were sourced from Transfermarkt.com. Male players sustaining ATRs between 2007 and 2018 were identified through injury reports. A control group (CTRL) was matched by position, age, height, and league, with a 6:1 ratio of controls to ATR subjects. The day of injury was considered “time zero”. Year -1 corresponds to the 360 days preceding injury, and Year 1 to the interval between 360 and 720 days after. Performance in the player’s main team was evaluated using a previously validated weighted PM metric. Only data from Year -1 and Year 1 were used for ATR versus CTRL group comparisons. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

The ATR group included 125 athletes. Data from more than 76,000 matches were analyzed. No statistically significant differences in net weighted PM metric between Year -1 and Year 1 were found.

Conclusion

No differences were found between athletes suffering from ATRs and controls regarding the weighted PM metric.

Level of evidence

III.
Literature
1.
Chauhan A, Stotts J, Ayeni OR, Khan M (2021) Return to play, performance, and value of National Basketball Association players following Achilles tendon rupture. Phys Sportsmed 49(3):271–277CrossRefPubMed
2.
Diniz P, Abreu M, Lacerda D, Martins A, Pereira H, Ferreira FC, Kerkhoffs GM, Fred A (2022) Pre-injury performance is most important for predicting the level of match participation after Achilles tendon ruptures in elite soccer players: a study using a machine learning classifier. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 12:4225–4237CrossRef
3.
4.
5.
6.
Fox G, Gabbe BJ, Richardson M, Oppy A, Page R, Edwards ER, Hau R, Ekegren CL (2016) Twelve-month outcomes following surgical repair of the Achilles tendon. Injury 47(10):2370–2374CrossRefPubMed
7.
Grassi A, Macchiarola L, Filippini M, Lucidi GA, Della Villa F, Zaffagnini S (2020) Epidemiology of anterior cruciate ligament injury in Italian first division soccer players. Sports Health 12(3):279–288CrossRefPubMed
8.
Grassi A, Rossi G, D’Hooghe P, Aujla R, Mosca M, Samuelsson K, Zaffagnini S (2020) Eighty-two per cent of male professional football (soccer) players return to play at the previous level two seasons after Achilles tendon rupture treated with surgical repair. Br J Sports Med 54(8):480–486CrossRefPubMed
9.
Hägglund M, Waldén M, Bahr R, Ekstrand J (2005) Methods for epidemiological study of injuries to professional football players: developing the UEFA model. Br J Sports Med 39(6):340–346CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
10.
Herold M, Kempe M, Bauer P, Meyer T (2021) Attacking key performance indicators in soccer: current practice and perceptions from the elite to youth academy level. J Sports Sci Med 20(1):158–169CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
11.
Hoenig T, Edouard P, Krause M, Malhan D, Relógio A, Junge A, Hollander K (2022) Analysis of more than 20,000 injuries in European professional football by using a citizen science-based approach: An opportunity for epidemiological research? J Sci Med Sport 25(4):300–305CrossRefPubMed
12.
Hughes M, Caudrelier T, James N, Donnelly I, Kirkbride A, Duschesne C (2012) Moneyball and soccer—an analysis of the key performance indicators of elite male soccer players by position. J Hum Sport Exerc 7(2):402–412CrossRef
13.
Hvattum LM (2019) A comprehensive review of plus-minus ratings for evaluating individual players in team sports. Int J Comput Sci Sport 18(1):1–23CrossRef
14.
Jandacka D, Silvernail JF, Uchytil J, Zahradnik D, Farana R, Hamill J (2017) Do athletes alter their running mechanics after an Achilles tendon rupture? J Foot Ankle Res 10:53CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
15.
Kharrat T, McHale IG, Peña JL (2020) Plus–minus player ratings for soccer. Eur J Oper Res 283(2):726–736CrossRef
16.
Krosshaug T, Nakamae A, Boden BP, Engebretsen L, Smith G, Slauterbeck JR, Hewett TE, Bahr R (2007) Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury in basketball: video analysis of 39 cases. Am J Sports Med 35(3):359–367CrossRefPubMed
17.
18.
LaPrade CM, Chona DV, Cinque ME, Freehill MT, McAdams TR, Abrams GD, Sherman SL, Safran MR (2022) Return-to-play and performance after operative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture in elite male athletes: a scoping review. Br J Sports Med 56(9):515–520CrossRefPubMed
19.
20.
21.
Leventer L, Eek F, Hofstetter S, Lames M (2016) Injury patterns among elite football players: a media-based analysis over 6 seasons with emphasis on playing position. Int J Sports Med 37(11):898–908CrossRefPubMed
22.
McHale IG, Scarf PA, Folker DE (2012) On the development of a soccer player performance rating system for the english premier league. Interfaces 42(4):339–351CrossRef
23.
Mezzarobba S, Bortolato S, Giacomazzi A, Fancellu G, Marcovich R, Valentini R (2012) Percutaneous repair of Achilles tendon ruptures with Tenolig: quantitative analysis of postural control and gait pattern. Foot 22(4):303–309CrossRefPubMed
24.
Parekh SG, Wray WH, Brimmo O, Sennett BJ, Wapner KL (2009) Epidemiology and outcomes of Achilles tendon ruptures in the National Football League. Foot Ankle Spec 2(6):283–286CrossRefPubMed
25.
Podraza JT, White SC (2010) Effect of knee flexion angle on ground reaction forces, knee moments and muscle co-contraction during an impact-like deceleration landing: implications for the non-contact mechanism of ACL injury. Knee 17(4):291–295CrossRefPubMed
26.
Powell HC, Silbernagel KG, Brorsson A, Tranberg R, Willy RW (2018) Individuals post achilles tendon rupture exhibit asymmetrical knee and ankle kinetics and loading rates during a drop countermovement jump. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 48(1):34–43CrossRefPubMed
27.
Schultze SR, Wellbrock C-M (2018) A weighted plus/minus metric for individual soccer player performance. J Sports Anal 4(2):121–131CrossRef
28.
Slagers AJ, van Veen E, Zwerver J, Geertzen JHB, Reininga IHF, van den Akker-Scheek I (2021) Psychological factors during rehabilitation of patients with Achilles or patellar tendinopathy: a cross-sectional study. Phys Ther Sport 50:145–152CrossRefPubMed
29.
Sochacki KR, Jack RA II, Hirase T, McCulloch PC, Lintner DM, Varner KE, Cosculluela PE, Harris JD (2019) There is a high return to sport rate but with reduced career lengths after Achilles tendon repair in Major League Soccer players. J ISAKOS 4(1):15–20CrossRef
30.
Transfermarkt.com. Football transfers, rumours, market values, news and statistics
31.
32.
Van Pelt KL, Lapointe AP, Galdys MC, Dougherty LA, Buckley TA, Broglio SP (2019) Evaluating performance of national hockey league players after a concussion versus lower body injury. J Athl Train 54(5):534–540CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
33.
Walker J, Nicholson G, Jongerius N, Parelkar P, Harris N, Bissas A (2020) Commonly reported isokinetic parameters do not reveal long-term strength deficits of the Triceps surae complex following operative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture. J Biomech 101:109630CrossRefPubMed
34.
Willy RW, Brorsson A, Powell HC, Willson JD, Tranberg R, Grävare Silbernagel K (2017) Elevated knee joint kinetics and reduced ankle kinetics are present during jogging and hopping after Achilles tendon ruptures. Am J Sports Med 45(5):1124–1133CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Return-to-performance in elite soccer players after Achilles tendon ruptures: a study using a weighted plus/minus metric and matched-control analysis
Authors
Pedro Diniz
Diogo Lacerda
Bruno Mendes
Hélder Pereira
Frederico Castelo Ferreira
Gino M. M. J. Kerkhoffs
Publication date
18-10-2023
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy / Issue 12/2023
Print ISSN: 0942-2056
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7347
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-023-07607-5

Other articles of this Issue 12/2023

Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 12/2023 Go to the issue

ANKLE

Watching a movie or listening to music is effective in managing perioperative anxiety and pain: a randomised controlled trial

KNEE

A spaced retraining schedule with 2-day interval improves the acquisition and retention of simulation-based basic arthroscopic skills

SHOULDER

Remplissage reduced sense of apprehension and increased the rate of return to sports at preinjury level of elite overhead athletes with on-track anterior shoulder instability

KNEE

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the KOOS, JR questionnaire for assessing knee osteoarthritis in Spanish-speaking patients

KNEE

Meniscectomy is associated with a higher rate of osteoarthritis compared to meniscal repair following acute tears: a meta-analysis

KNEE

Setting the distal and posterior condyle of the femoral component to restore the medial pre-arthritic femoral articular surface results in better outcomes after total knee arthroplasty