@article{ref1,
title="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",
journal="British journal of sports medicine",
year="2019",
author="Grassi, Alberto and Rossi, Guendalina and D'Hooghe, Pieter and Aujla, Randeep and Mosca, Massimiliano and Samuelsson, Kristian and Zaffagnini, Stefano",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the time to return to playing following acute Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) and surgical repair in professional male football (soccer) players. <br><br>METHODS: Professional male football (soccer) players who sustained an ATR and underwent surgical repair were identified through internet-based injury reports from January 2008 to August 2018. Only League 1 and 2 players with injuries who had at least 1 year of follow-up from the search date were included. Injury history and time to return to play were retrieved from the public platform <i>transfermarkt.com</i>. For athletes who competed for at least two seasons after returning to play, re-ruptures and number of matches played were reported. <br><br>RESULTS: 118 athletes (mean age 27.2±7.2 years) were included. 113 (96%) returned to unrestricted practice after a mean of 199±53 days, with faster recovery in players involved in national teams. Return to competition was after a mean of 274±114 days. In the 76 athletes with at least two seasons of follow-up, 14 (18%) did not compete at the pre-injury level during the two seasons following the index injury. Six players (8%) sustained a re-rupture within the first two seasons after return to play; four re-ruptures were in footballers who returned to play <180 days after injury. Age >30 years and re-ruptures had higher odds ratios of not returning to the same level of play. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: 96% of professional male football players who underwent surgery to repair an ATR returned to unrestricted practice and then competition after an average time of 7 and 9 months, respectively. However, 18% did not return to the same level of play within the two seasons following their return, with a higher risk in those experiencing a re-rupture.<br><br>© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0306-3674",
doi="10.1136/bjsports-2019-100556",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100556"
}