PLAYER WELFARE MUST BE PRIORITY
WHEN the Bundesliga returned in May after a ten-week hiatus, there were 14 individual muscle injuries after the first round of fixtures alone. That’s not including the injuries picked up on the return to training before the league games commenced again.
One Premier League squad on returning to full training in May reportedly had seven muscle injuries in their first week back. These are the full-time players, with full-time world experts, in many cases, looking after them. Under normal circumstances, NonLeague players would have eight weeks off followed by a six-week pre-season. That’s the reference point. Whilst many clubs have now started pre-season, most players would have spent around 16 weeks since they were last in meaningful action.
In normal circumstances of eight weeks rest then six weeks pre-season, that’s a ratio of 8:6. If we started pre-season three weeks ago after a 16-week layoff, then our pre-season will need to be 12 weeks, or until the end of September.
It is almost certain as a result of a shorter than needed pre-season we will see a rise in the number of injuries, especially muscular (strains and tears) ones at most clubs.
One further issue that has arisen in the last week is that the National League is planning a later season start to Steps 3 and below. That means the Step 1 and 2 clubs may not be ready to play Steps 3 and below in their pre-season prep as it will simply be too soon. So we must think carefully about the effect of the timing of our pre-season at the Non-League level of the game. While we have start dates confirmed for the FA Cup and Steps 3 and below leagues, clubs cannot be expected to just return to play with little regard for the players. We need a gradual build-up, not a quick, short session and expect everything to be back to normal. Many players will tire easily and this will put them at risk of injury which could also affect their day-to-day jobs.
Most Non-League players will have tried to keep themselves fit during the past four months, but cycling 10km or running 5km is something very different to the physical demands of a game of football. It’s therefore vital that clubs take extra care in their plans for both pre-season and the campaign itself. There should also be a change in the rules of the game, just as we have seen in the Premier League, with the use of substitutes. We need to be able to use all five during a game for at least the first few months, if not the whole of the 20/21 season, to allow for players to be replaced who may be showing signs of muscle fatigue.
We must also ensure we don’t overload our players with too many games, both league and cup, early in the season as we usually do. We have to allow players ample time to recover.
Player welfare must come first. These are extraordinary times and, as a result, call for extraordinary solutions, including a full understanding from the FA and the leagues on the impact of the timing of the restart of competitive football at our level.