It’s one of the last things a newly appointed football manager wants. They’ve only been at their new club for five minutes and already a key player is out injured. Hardly the start they’d hoped for – but could it have been avoided?
Along with the obvious objective of winning games, one of the main priorities for any manager is to have a healthy squad to pick from.
But many experts will tell you the arrival of a new manager and backroom team can often lead to a short-term increase in injuries.
Physiotherapist Ben Warburton – brother of Wales rugby union legend Sam – is one.
Warburton began his career working with academy players at both Cardiff City and Welsh rugby union team the Dragons. He has since worked primarily in rugby, and was Wales’ physio for their summer tour to Japan this year.
“It’s very well known within the medical world that you get an increase of injury incidence when a new coach comes in,” he told BBC Sport.
“Players want to impress the new coach and get in the starting XI – it’s a clean slate. They’re likely to report a little bit less to the medical staff and may train through some bumps and niggles, which can potentially lead to an injury.”
Changes to the type of training can also make a big difference.
“If, for example, a new manager comes in and wants to shift the focus to gym work, that could cause injury issues if players aren’t used to that,” Warburton said.
Ben Dinnery, founder of Premier Injuries – a website used to track and record injury data for the Premier League, agrees.
“There are lots of factors at play,” he said. “There’s the injury history of certain players that a new manager probably won’t know as much about as previous coaching staff.
“Then there’s the issue of player fatigue. A new manager will understandably want to get the absolute maximum out of the players – but there’s a risk of overdoing this.
“And, finally, there’s the psychological impact of players working as hard as possible to make their mark – all of which can potentially lead to an increase in injuries.”