Differences in the Profiles of Injured and Non-Injured Professional Football Players

Football is distinguished by its intense sprinting, continuous vertical jumping, and abrupt direction changes, among other high-intensity motions. These typical football actions are primarily associated with the occurrence of sports injuries. This study aimed to (i) describe the injury profile over four seasons (i.e., number of injured players, injury types, and locations) and (ii) to analyze the differences between players who have suffered muscle injuries and those who have not suffered this specific type of injury, in body composition indicators and physical fitness tests. The sample included 121 professional male football players (26.1 ± 4.2 years). Injuries were recorded daily. Body composition, lower-body strength, flexibility, static strength, speed, agility, and endurance were assessed during four preseasons. Mann-Whitney U test assessed group differences. The results showed a total of 114 sports injuries. Older players (p = 0.02, r = 0.28) with more senior experience (p = 0.03, r = 0.26) and higher results in lower-limb explosive strength (p = 0.02, r = 0.48), were the ones significantly affected by injuries. The results support that possibly football players who have a higher capability for lower-limb explosiveness and lower values of total body water, fat-free mass, and skeletal muscle mass can benefit from additional preventive training to avoid injuries. Still, longitudinal assessments were verified as more capable of drawing detailed trends that characterize and differentiate the injured and non-injured groups, compared to preseason cross-sectional assessments. Longitudinal studies with other sporting samples can be beneficial to enhance sports science knowledge.