Location, type and mechanism of injury in FIFA World Cups
| Tournament | France 1998 | Korea/Japan 2002 | Germany 2006 | South Africa 2010 | Brazil 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injured body part | |||||
| Head, face, neck | 16 (15%) | 25 (15%) | 13 (9%) | 13 (10%) | 19 (18%) |
| Upper extremity, including shoulder | 9 (9%) | 8 (5%) | 12 (8%) | 12 (10%) | 10 (10%) |
| Trunk | 9 (9%) | 6 (4%) | 15 (10%) | 8 (6%) | 7 (7%) |
| Hip/groin | 2 (2%) | 11 (6%) | 7 (5%) | 6 (5%) | 4 (4%) |
| Thigh | 21 (20%) | 30 (18%) | 21 (14%) | 36 (29%) | 26 (25%) |
| Knee | 24 (23%) | 22 (13%) | 17 (12%) | 9 (7%) | 12 (12%) |
| Lower leg | 6 (6%) | 29 (17%) | 30 (21%) | 19 (15%) | 13 (12%) |
| Ankle | 13 (13%) | 25 (15%) | 24 (17%) | 15 (12%) | 10 (10%) |
| Foot | 5 (5%) | 14 (8%) | 6 (4%) | 7 (6%) | 2 (2%) |
| Total | 105 | 170 | 145* | 125 | 104 |
| Missing/unclear | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Type of injury | |||||
| Concussion | 1 (1%) | 4 (2%) | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | 5 (5%) |
| Fracture | 3 (4%) | 3 (2%) | 1 (1%) | 4 (3%) | 6 (6%) |
| Tendon or ligament rupture/meniscus lesion | 2 (2%) | 1 (1%) | 5 (3%) | 1 (1%) | 4 (4%) |
| Sprain (dislocation) | 10 (12%) | 24 (14%) | 24 (15%) | 15 (12%) | 8 (8%) |
| Strain/muscle fibre rupture | 19 (23%) | 35 (21%) | 20 (14%) | 21 (17%) | 25 (24%) |
| Contusion | 34 (41%) | 84 (50%) | 74 (51%) | 53 (43%) | 39 (38%) |
| Laceration/abrasion/blister | 6 (7%) | 12 (7%) | 6 (4%) | 9 (7%) | 10 (10%) |
| Others | 8 (10%) | 6 (2%) | 14 (10%) | 20 (16%) | 6 (6%) |
| Total | 83 | 169 | 145 | 124 | 103 |
| Missing | 66 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mechanism of injury | |||||
| Non-contact injuries | 45/167 (27%) | 38/142 (27%) | 42/121 (35%)† | 36/101 (36%) | |
| Contact injuries | 122/167 (73%) | 104/142 (73%) | 79/121 (65%)† | 65/101 (64%) | |
| Contact injury caused by foul | 59/115 (51%) | 57/93 (61%) | 19/79 (24%)† | 22/63 (35%) | |
| Foul sanctioned by the referee | 28/54 (52%) | 32/56 (57%) | –† | 12/21 (57%) | |
*One injury affected two body parts.
†Mechanism of injury was assessed with a different question.6