Day 14 – Injuries: are the players faking?

Topic Point: While there is gamesmanship, an issue that FIFA is trying toaddress, many injuries are real. Consider stubbing your toe on a table leg ordoor. The intensity of that pain, focused into such a small area, can betemporarily crippling. The physicality of soccer is underappreciated by manyAmerican fans. Collisions can be very violent. Impacts in soccer vary from atraumatic collision where heads knock each resulting in concussions andlacerations, to a cleat on one player’s shoe causing very focused trauma on apart another player’s body (commonly the foot or ankle). These impacts seemminimal but are akin to stubbing a toe under a door or on a table leg. Onesurvives and will be fine, but the pain takes a few minutes to resolve.

Ted Lasso: InS1E5, Sam Obisanya is fouled and initially hurt. After some scuffling betweenRoy Kent and Jaime Tartt, Roy asks Sam if he is ok. Sam responds that it doesnot hurt anymore but he didn’t know what to do when Roy and Jaime werefighting. Roy advises him to get up, limp, and work out the injury and pain.The gamesmanship being mocked, it is still acknowledged that the injury didhurt initially.

In S2E1, Phoebe tells Keely she received ared card during her match for elbowing an opposing player in the neck.

In S2E3, when preparing for an upcomingmatch, Coach Beard warns the opponent is very physical, borderline violent. Tedresponds that he can’t believe soccer players don’t wear pads. The sceneacknowledges the potential for serious injury and the physicality of the game,particularly how it is played in the professional ranks.

Finally, in S3E11, Jaime Tartt makes agreat defensive play by hurling his body toward his goal and preventing theball from going in. When he lands on the ground, he does so awkwardly and badlysprains his ankle.

Soccer-related note: The prolongation of recovery, or even the exaggerated response toinjury, can be attributed to a few factors. We saw the game allows minimalsubstitutions and no timeouts or breaks aside from halftime. Additionally,soccer players run an average of 8 miles in a game. When a player ends up onthe ground and the game is paused, they will take extra time getting up to geta little breather. This can be accomplished when play is stopped, usuallybecause the player on the ground was fouled. To extend that time a littlefurther, a player may demonstrate discomfort to seek treatment. Often, the painis real even if temporary, such as a stubbed toe.

American Sports comparison: Basketball players run an average of 2.5 miles per game and footballplayers run an average of 1.25 miles per game. Both sports are very physical,especially the hits in American football. However, with the more frequentstoppage in play due to structure, the shorter distances covered moment tomoment, unlimited substitution, and multiple timeout opportunities, there isgreater opportunity for a player to recover after exertion. That’s not to saythese sports avoid gamesmanship! Basketball players are known to flop.Defensive football players may delay removing themselves from a pile if theoffensive team is trying to hurry the pace. Calling a timeout to “ice” thekicker attempting a game-winning field goal is another gamesmanship tactic.

‍Interactive:

The chart below shows the distance traveled by USMNT players in their first game of the 2014 World Cup. Notice that even our goalkeeper, Tim Howard, covered almost 3 miles!

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Also click on the link below to an orthopedic surgery practice, Alliance Orthopedics. Their online article, 10 Most Common Soccer Injuries, demonstrates the injuries that occur with some frequency in soccer. While several injuries are listed, two points are missing. First, the severity of some injuries should be considered. For example, 'hamstring strains' can range from partial to full tears, the latter requiring surgery. Second, soccer players also suffer more severe orthopedic injuries such as broken bones (legs and arms) and dislocations (ankles, knees, shoulders) which are missing from the list! While it may be suggested that broken limbs or dislocated joints are not in the “10 most common” list, my experience suggests otherwise!

https://allianceortho.com/10-common-soccer-injuries/

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