The Premier League elite suffers with injuries

Next month, FIFA will face a critical decision regarding the international football calendar — potentially expanding the Club World Cup and increasing the number of national team matches. For the sport’s biggest stars, that means playing even more games, further raising the risk of injury. This concern was the focus of a study by British financial services firm JLT Speciality, which revealed that last year’s World Cup in Russia significantly contributed to a spike in injuries this season.

While in the previous Premier League season, 78 players who had participated in the tournament suffered injuries, that number jumped to 114 this year — a 44% increase. “This is no statistical fluke. It confirms the extreme workload on top players, with the primary cause being an overloaded match calendar,” said sports analyst and football manager Jozef Tokos in an interview with the Economic Daily.

JLT Speciality also calculated the financial cost of injured players who missed games or training sessions. By multiplying the length of time missed by daily wages, they estimated that sidelined players cost Premier League clubs over £130 million.

More than half of that amount fell on the six biggest clubs, which also had the most players participating in the World Cup. Manchester City, which sent 16 players to Russia — more than any other club — took the biggest financial hit, with injuries costing the club over £17 million. “What can’t be quantified, however, is how many more points these clubs might have earned had they had their key players available,” Tokos noted.

A clear example is Tottenham Hotspur, currently third in the Premier League. The club has been missing its attacking stars for weeks — top World Cup scorer Harry Kane and midfielder Dele Alli — with injuries likely linked to the intense World Cup schedule.

In long domestic seasons, it’s becoming increasingly essential for clubs to maintain deep squads filled with quality players. “It plays a critical role and can be a decisive factor in a team’s success by the end of the season,” Tokos stressed.

He pointed to the current Premier League title race as an illustration. On one side is Liverpool, which relies heavily on its attacking trio of Mané–Firmino–Salah every match. On the other is Manchester City, a club with greater squad depth. Although City has struggled with injuries, the return of key players has lifted the team’s overall quality again. (...)