In a recent interview with Rai Radio 1, Piero Volpi, team doctor for Inter and head of knee surgery and sports traumatology at the Humanitas Institute in Milan, confirmed what was previously mentioned in our article, further exploring the main causes and proposing potential solutions.
The density of matches: a growing problem
In our previous article, we already discussed the issue of injuries in professional football, analyzing how an excess of matches, a lack of proper training, and uneven management of playing time are among the main causes of injury in today’s football. Volpi highlighted how the density of matches is one of the leading causes of injury. Players are often forced to play twice a week for long periods without adequate physical and mental recovery. This overload prevents footballers from training effectively and improving essential physical qualities such as strength, speed, and endurance.
“We have players who play all year round, even twice a week for extended periods. But it’s not enough to say that they play too much. We need to say that they play too much and train too little. The qualities a player needs, such as strength, high speed, and endurance, are difficult to incorporate into the weekly cycle of a football team. Over the course of a season, players participate in 240-250 training sessions, but only 25% of those are truly effective. And this is one of the leading causes of injury“.
The importance of balanced playing time
Another critical aspect concerns the unequal distribution of playing time among players. On one hand, there are the “undisputed starters” who accumulate up to 4,800 minutes on the field during the season; on the other, there are players who total only 1,000 minutes. This disparity creates an imbalance that, according to the doctor, contributes to an increased risk of injuries, both for those who play too much and for those who play too little. A proposed solution is to better manage players’ playing time, avoiding excessive overload on some while improving squad rotation.
“The undisputed starters who always play get injured, but so do those who play less because there’s a lack of balance in playing time and intelligent, effective rotation,” the doctor states. “One of the proposals we share with our coach—a smart, attentive person who is very mindful of these issues—is to aim for better playing time management to safeguard those players who, by the end of the season, will have 4,500-4,800 minutes, while others in the squad finish the year with just 1,000 minutes on the field,” he adds.
Substitutions: a possible solution
To alleviate the burden on players, Volpi suggests introducing more substitutions during matches. “Since it’s not possible to change the schedules, managing playing time is one of the solutions. I’ll add another: after the confirmation of five substitutions, I believe we could eventually reach six or seven in the future. Six are already allowed in certain competitions, where extra time is expected.” Increasing the number of substitutions could help reduce physical strain on players, especially during the most intense periods of the season, such as autumn and spring, when match density increases due to European competitions.
National teams and injury management
Another complicating factor is the commitments to national teams. During international call-ups, players drastically change their training and nutrition routines, which increases the risk of injury. His proposal is to reduce the number of teams in domestic leagues, from 20 to 18, to create more space for training and to ensure a better balance between club and national team competitions.
“Some of our players have already raised the alarm, highlighting how the gap between the European Championship and the start of the season was extremely tight. There was no time to disconnect and recover, both physically and mentally. Then there’s the issue of national teams. We cannot keep sending players to the national team for 12-15 days each month, where their training and dietary routines change completely. It’s as if they switch teams entirely, which increases the risk of injury. As a doctor, my proposal is to reduce the number of teams in top domestic leagues by two. By cutting down from 20 to 18 teams, we could gain a month to allow more training and to dedicate more time to national teams.”
The Need for a Discussion Table
Volpi concludes by emphasizing the need for a discussion involving all parties: coaches, doctors, federations, and players. Only through open dialogue and the development of new strategies can the management of injuries in modern football be improved, while also ensuring a more sustainable schedule for the athletes.
Source: FC Inter 1908
