Bundesliga worst hit by rising injuries in Europe, report finds
Players in Germany’s Bundesliga are most likely to be injured amongst Europe’s top five domestic leagues but England’s Premier League bears the most injury-related costs, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The fourth edition of insurance firm Howden’s Men’s European Football Injury Index charts the upward trend in injuries recorded in the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A with a combined 4,123 during the 2023-24 season — a 4% rise on 2022-23 and 37% more than in 2020-21.
Injuries cost clubs a combined €732 million ($797.73 million) last season in wages paid to players while out of action while since the report’s first edition in 2020-21, there have been 14,292 injuries in Europe’s top leagues, costing clubs €2.3 billion in players’ salaries.
The report comes with player welfare, including injuries, an increasingly hot topic with FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup and UEFA’s revamped club competitions adding to the workload of already packed domestic schedules.
On Monday, players’ union FIFPRO Europe and the domestic leagues warned that players could be pushed to strike action.
James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden, said the data underlines the ever-increasing physical demands on players.
“As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods, with a notable 5% rise in injury costs this season alone,” he said.
The Howden report highlights a worrying increase in the severity of injuries to Premier League players aged under 21, with each injury equating to an average 44-day lay-off — up from 26.5 in 2022-23.