Table 1 Team, player and injury characteristics during European Championships from 2006 to 2008 (part 1)
TournamentMen’s EURO 2008Men’s under-21 2006Men’s under-21 2007Men’s under-19 2006Men’s under-19 2007Men’s under-19 2008
No. of teams1688888
No. of players (squad size)367† (23)176 (22)182† (23)144 (18)147* (18)145* (18)
Age27.2 (4.0)21.6 (1.2)21.3 (1.3)18.6 (0.6)18.6 (0.6)18.4 (0.7)
No. of matches311516151515
No. of training sessions1794272544462
Exposure hours536815892321125311581461
    Match hours1058513548490504504
    Training hours431010761774762654957
No. of injured players51 (14%)21 (12%)24 (13%)8 (6%)15 (10%)15 (10%)
Age injured players26.4 (3.7)21.7 (0.9)21.0 (1.5)18.8 (0.7)18.5 (0.6)18.5 (0.5)
No. of injuries56222581515
    Training injuries12/56 (21%)5/22 (23%)6/25 (24%)0/81/15 (7%)2/15 (13%)
    Match injuries44/56 (79%)17/22 (77%)19/25 (76%)8/8 (100%)14/15 (93%)13/15 (87%)
        Foul play injuries9/44 (20%)3/17 (18%)2/19 (11%)2/8 (25%)4/14 (29%)4/13 (31%)
Injuries/match1.41.11.20.50.90.9
Circumstance
    Traumatic injuries41/56 (73%)17/22 (77%)17/25 (68%)7/8 (88%)14/15 (93%)12/15 (80%)
        Player contact30/41 (73%)11/17 (65%)10/17 (59%)6/7 (86%)11/14 (79%)7/12 (58%)
    Overuse injuries15/56 (27%)5/22 (22%)8/25 (32%)1/8 (13%)1/15 (7%)3/15 (20%)
Re-injuries4/56 (7%)2/22 (9%)1/25 (4%)0/81/15 (7%)0/15
Injury severity
    Slight injuries0/560/223/25 (12%)0/80/152/15 (13%)
    Minimal injuries22/56 (39%)12/22 (55%)8/25 (32%)4/8 (50%)9/15 (60%)7/15 (47%)
    Mild injuries9/56 (16%)2/22 (9%)4/25 (16%)1/8 (13%)1/15 (7%)2/15 (13%)
    Moderate injuries12/56 (21%)3/22 (14%)8/25 (32%)2/8 (25%)1/15 (7%)3/15 (20%)
    Severe injuries13/56 (23%)5/22 (23%)2/25 (8%)1/8 (13%)4/15 (27%)1/15 (7%)
Injuries/1000 hours
    Match play41.6 (30.9 to 55.9)33.1 (20.6 to 53.3)34.7 (22.1 to 54.4)16.3 (8.2 to 32.6)27.8 (16.5 to 46.9)25.8 (15.0 to 44.4)
    Training2.8 (1.6 to 4.9)4.6 (1.9 to 11.2)3.4 (1.5 to 7.5)01.5 (0.2 to 10.9)2.1 (0.5 to 8.4)
    Total (training + matches)10.4 (8.0 to 13.6)13.8 (9.1 to 21.0)10.8 (7.3 to 15.9)6.4 (3.2 to 12.8)13.0 (7.8 to 21.5)10.3 (6.2 to 17.0)
        Slight injuries001.3 (0.4 to 4.0)001.4 (0.3 to 5.5)
        Minimal injuries4.1 (2.7 to 6.2)7.6 (4.3 to 13.3)3.4 (1.7 to 6.9)3.2 (1.2 to 8.5)7.8 (4.0 to 14.9)4.8 (2.3 to 10.1)
        Mild injuries1.7 (0.9 to 3.2)1.3 (0.3 to 5.0)1.7 (0.6 to 4.6)0.8 (0.1 to 5.7)0.9 (0.1 to 6.1)1.4 (0.3 to 5.5)
        Moderate injuries2.2 (1.3 to 3.9)1.9 (0.6 to 5.9)3.4 (1.7 to 6.9)1.6 (0.4 to 6.4)0.9 (0.1 to 6.1)2.1 (0.7 to 6.4)
        Severe injuries2.4 (1.4 to 4.2)3.1 (1.3 to 7.6)0.9 (0.2 to 3.4)0.8 (0.1 to 5.7)3.5 (1.3 to 9.2)0.7 (1.0 to 4.9)
  • Values are n (%), mean (standard deviation) or incidence (95% CI) unless otherwise specified. *Player(s) replaced during tournament due to injury or illness. †Player(s) injured prior to tournament not replaced.