Nota de Prensa
VIE 27.03.2026
LALIGA, through its Football Intelligence & Performance department, in collaboration with the URJC and the UMH, has been awarded third prize at the National Sports Medicine Research Awards for its research into the recovery of footballers following muscle injuries. The organisation thus continues to consolidate its role as an international benchmark in the application of data, technology and scientific research to professional football.
The research was led by Víctor Moreno (Miguel Hernández University) and Juan Del Coso (Rey Juan Carlos University), in collaboration with LALIGA and with the participation of clubs such as Real Betis, FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF, uncovering new insights into how a footballer’s performance evolves following a muscle injury and which factors must be taken into account for their return to competition.
The study, which has now been awarded third prize at the National Sports Medicine Research Awards, analysed 327 professional footballers over five seasons, focusing on hamstring injuries, one of the most common in elite football. The results show that, although a player may be medically cleared and available to compete, limitations may persist during high-intensity activities that are not always detected by traditional indicators.
These findings reinforce the need to move towards more accurate performance assessment models, in line with the work carried out by LALIGA’s Football Intelligence & Performance department, which integrates advanced data, scientific knowledge and applied analysis to improve decision-making within clubs.
“This type of research reflects the unique value of the work carried out by LALIGA’s Football Intelligence department: transforming data into useful knowledge for clubs and for the general advancement of sports science, thanks to technology. Our aim is to help coaching staff make better decisions, protect players’ health and continue to raise the competitive level of LALIGA,” said Ricardo Resta, director of Football Intelligence & Performance at LALIGA.
LALIGA’s Football Intelligence & Performance department, formerly known as Mediacoach, is a unique model among major international competitions. Through the Sportian Performance platform, marketed by Sportian—a company in which LALIGA holds a stake alongside Globant—LALIGA provides its 42 professional clubs with an advanced performance analysis tool that integrates tracking data, video, and physical and tactical metrics in real time.
The National Sports Medicine Research Awards, with over two decades of history and nearly thirty editions, are a benchmark in Spain in the field of sports science. Organised by the University of Oviedo and the Cajastur Foundation, they recognise excellence in research and promote the transfer of knowledge between medicine, physical activity and sport.
A well-established line of research serving football and science
This work forms part of a well-established line of research which, in recent years, has advanced our understanding of the risk of muscle injury in professional football from different perspectives, always with a common goal: to improve players’ health and prevent injuries.
In the first phase, the group analysed the role of individual factors. The study “ACTN3 XX Genotype Negatively Affects Running Performance and Increases Muscle Injury Incidence in LALIGA Football Players”, published in the journal Genes and awarded first prize at these same awards in 2022, analysed more than 300 professional LALIGA footballers and demonstrated that players with the ACTN3 XX genotype exhibit:
- Lower performance in high-intensity actions (fewer sprints and shorter distances at high speed).
- A higher incidence of muscle injuries, particularly during competition.
These results demonstrate that there are significant individual differences in injury risk and reinforce the importance of moving towards individualised prevention strategies.
Subsequently, the research incorporated the player’s competitive context. In the paper “Reduced Match Exposure in the Previous 2 Matches Accounts for Hamstring Muscle Injury Incidence in Professional Football Players”, published in Sports Health and recognised as Best Original Research Article 2024, the authors analysed LALIGA footballers over several seasons and observed that players who sustained injuries had accumulated a lower competitive load in previous matches.
Specifically, they identified practical thresholds associated with injury risk, such as:
- Less than 64 minutes in the last match.
- Less than 95 minutes accumulated over the last two matches.
- Lower running volume and fewer high-speed actions.
This finding introduced the concept of competitive under-exposure as a relevant factor in injury prevention in professional football.
In this context, the award-winning study now complements this view by incorporating a third dimension: recovery. The results suggest that, even when a player has been cleared to return to competition, physical limitations may persist, requiring a more precise assessment to ensure an optimal return to competition.
Towards more accurate models of prevention and recovery
Together, these studies enable progress towards a more comprehensive approach to the management of muscle injuries in professional football, integrating:
- The player’s individual characteristics.
- Their exposure to competition.
- And the actual progression following an injury.
This approach helps to improve decision-making within clubs and to further optimise prevention and recovery processes, with a clear objective: to protect the health of footballers and help prevent injuries in professional football.
Digital links to the scientific publications:
• ACTN3 XX Genotype Negatively Affects Running Performance and Increases Muscle Injury Incidence in LaLiga Football Players (Genes): https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15030386
• Reduced Match Exposure in the Previous 2 Matches Accounts for Hamstring Muscle Injury Incidence in Professional Football Players (Sports Health): https://doi.org/10.1177/19417381231158117
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