Matilda Lundblad has mapped knee injuries based on Uefa's record of 23,000 injuries during 17 seasons in the Men's Champions League. The survey is one of the largest that has been done in terms of injuries in sports.

- We have done this study to identify what kind of ligament injuries you get in clubs at the highest level, how long you are away and what resources the medical teams need. One news is that so-called orthoses, knee protection with rails that support the knee, increase the time you are away from play rather than reduce it, says Matilda Lundblad to SVT Sport.

The Champions League team has an average of 50 injuries in a season, ten of which require at least four weeks of rest from play. This means that the team can count on always having two players long-term injured and several more away due to minor injuries.

The Uefa material is based on top teams with 25 players in the squad, but teams in damall Swedes, such as Gothenburg FC, have only 18 players, which means that the risk of injury is even greater. Although the study material concerns men's players, Lundblad believes that the study is also applicable to women's soccer because research on elite ladies shows the same injury levels as for men's players.

- Here we have a smaller squad and less opportunity to rotate players, which leads to an increased number of overload injuries, says Matilda Lundblad.

When Gothenburg left the Champions League against Bayern Munich, there were missing key players who were matched too hard due to the thin squad.

- It would have been optimal if we had some more players to spare those who were matched too hard. A smaller squad means that we are extremely tired of some players, says Marcus Lantz, coach Gothenburg FC.

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Matilda Lunblad is behind the injury report. Photo: Photo Agency