Manchester United paid the highest price of any Premier League team for the injuries they suffered last season, according to a new report.
The Red Devils’ eighth-place finish in 2023-24 was the lowest in their Premier League history, with Dutch coach Erik ten Hag regularly lamenting his side’s injury list as the season progressed.
United’s injury cost was calculated at £39.81million, according to data from the Men’s European Football Injury Index compiled by global insurance intermediary group Howden, which was published on Tuesday.
The cost is calculated by multiplying the daily base salary of the injured player by the number of days they were unavailable due to injury.
The report found United suffered 75 instances of injury across the season, second only to Newcastle on 76.
Chelsea had the highest average cost – £540,000 per injury – and the second-highest overall cost at £30.22m. Champions Manchester City had 57 injuries, at a cost of 32.37m euros (£27m).
The Premier League accounted for 44 per cent of the injury costs across the five biggest European leagues, largely due to its clubs paying the biggest salaries.
The English top flight’s injury bill was 318.8m euros (£265.8m) out of a total of 732m euros (£610.2m).
That overall figure represented a five per cent increase on 2022-23, while injuries across the five leagues were up four per cent to 4,123.
The report’s publication comes a day after European leagues and player unions lodged a legal complaint against FIFA with the European Commission over the fixture calendar.
They allege that FIFA is abusing a dominant position under competition law in its behaviour over the calendar. They argue “unilateral” changes FIFA has made, such as the introduction of an expanded Club World Cup to start next summer, have harmed the economic interests of domestic leagues and jeopardised player welfare.
Howden has reported a year-on-year increase in the overall number of injuries since it first published the index after the 2020-21 season, although the four per cent increase is well under the 23 per cent hike between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
James Burrows, Howden’s head of sport, said the data “underscored the ever-increasing physical demands on players”.
He said: “As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods, with a notable five per cent rise in injury costs this season alone.
“Our data captures the demands of modern football and we hope it serves as a valuable tool for players, clubs and governing bodies in their ongoing discussions.”
The Premier League recorded a drop in the number of injuries recorded, from 944 in 2022-23 to 915 last season.
The Bundesliga had the highest number of injuries recorded for the second season running – 1,255 in 2023-24.
For all the discussion around fixture congestion and the requirement for players to rest, it was perhaps surprising that an 18-team top flight should lead the way, and one that features a six-week winter break.
