Definitions of injury and match congestion variables used in the study
| Variable | Definition |
| Time-loss injury | Any physical complaint sustained by a player that results from a football match and led to the player being unable to take full part in future football training or match play. |
| Muscle injury | A traumatic distraction or overuse injury to a muscle. |
| Short-term match congestion | Number of days since the player’s last recorded match exposure prior to the observation. |
| Long-term match congestion | Total hours of match exposure that the player had been exposed to in the 30 days prior to the observation. |