Medical insider: West Ham set for ‘huge spike’ in injuries as David Moyes fumes
The likes of West Ham will likely see a “huge spike” in injuries in the coming weeks as a result of the jam-packed fixture schedule.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
The Hammers currently have five players sidelined through injury, including 32-year-old left-back Aaron Cresswell, who has a groin problem.
Referencing Cresswell’s setback, as quoted by footbal.london on Monday (29 August), David Moyes insisted: “It’s obviously because you are playing so quickly. You are pushing them back out again Thursdays, Sundays, it is difficult.”
The Irons boss has had to navigate not only for Premier League and League Cup games but also Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Dinnery predicts that injury rates will continue to go through the roof with the return of mid-week fixtures.
“I think at this stage in the season, players are still getting up to full speed,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Playing three matches in a week with a fairly quick turnaround and travel on top of that, it’s fairly understandable.
“When we look at the data for injury incidence, it’s normally around weeks three, four and five that we see a huge spike in incidence. That has been the case over the last four or five seasons.
“In the last few days, we have seen players pick up a high number of hamstring incidents as players are beginning to ramp up. We also have this mid-week fixture now.
“So, there is always going to be that period of adaptation in going from the off-season into playing again.
“One game per week is manageable, but when you throw another game in there you throw everything off-kilter in terms of your pre and post-match recovery strategies.”
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