Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in sport has been the subject of numerous studies over the past two years. However, knowledge about the direct impact of COVID-19 infection on the performance of athletes is limited, and the importance of studies on this topic is crucial during the current pandemi...

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Autores principales:	Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic, Jasna Nincevic, Sime Versic, Sarah Cuschieri, Ante Bandalovic, Ante Turic, Boris Becir, Toni Modric, Damir Sekulic
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	SARS-CoV-2 prevalence football performance global positions system Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a31549f14b33409dbda971254e0dc292
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a31549f14b33409dbda971254e0dc2922021-11-11T16:46:23ZPerformance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play10.3390/ijerph1821116881660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/a31549f14b33409dbda971254e0dc2922021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11688https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in sport has been the subject of numerous studies over the past two years. However, knowledge about the direct impact of COVID-19 infection on the performance of athletes is limited, and the importance of studies on this topic is crucial during the current pandemic era. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the match running performance (MRP) of professional soccer players that occurred as a result of COVID-19 infection after fulfilling all of the prerequisites for a safe return to play (RTP). The participants were 47 professional soccer players from a team which competed in first Croatian division (21.6 years old on average) during the 2020/21 season. The total sample was divided into two subgroups based on the results of a PCR test for COVID-19, where 31 players tested positive (infected) and 16 tested negative. We observed the PCR test results (positive vs. negative PCR), the number of days needed to return to the team, number of days needed to RTP after quarantine and isolation, and MRP (10 variables measured by a global positioning system). The number of days where the infected players were not included in the team ranged from 7 to 51 (Median: 12). Significant pre- to post-COVID differences in MRP for infected players were only found for high-intensity accelerations and high-intensity decelerations (<i>t</i>-test = 2.11 and 2.13, respectively; <i>p</i> < 0.05, moderate effect size differences), with poorer performance in the post-COVID period. Since a decrease of the MRP as a result of COVID-19 infection was only noted in two variables, we can highlight appropriateness of the applied RTP. However, further adaptations and improvements of the RTP are needed with regard to high-intensity activities.Anamarija Jurcev SavicevicJasna NincevicSime VersicSarah CuschieriAnte BandalovicAnte TuricBoris BecirToni ModricDamir SekulicMDPI AGarticleSARS-CoV-2prevalencefootballperformanceglobal positions systemMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11688, p 11688 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	SARS-CoV-2 prevalence football performance global positions system Medicine R
spellingShingle	SARS-CoV-2 prevalence football performance global positions system Medicine R Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic Jasna Nincevic Sime Versic Sarah Cuschieri Ante Bandalovic Ante Turic Boris Becir Toni Modric Damir Sekulic Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
description	The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in sport has been the subject of numerous studies over the past two years. However, knowledge about the direct impact of COVID-19 infection on the performance of athletes is limited, and the importance of studies on this topic is crucial during the current pandemic era. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the match running performance (MRP) of professional soccer players that occurred as a result of COVID-19 infection after fulfilling all of the prerequisites for a safe return to play (RTP). The participants were 47 professional soccer players from a team which competed in first Croatian division (21.6 years old on average) during the 2020/21 season. The total sample was divided into two subgroups based on the results of a PCR test for COVID-19, where 31 players tested positive (infected) and 16 tested negative. We observed the PCR test results (positive vs. negative PCR), the number of days needed to return to the team, number of days needed to RTP after quarantine and isolation, and MRP (10 variables measured by a global positioning system). The number of days where the infected players were not included in the team ranged from 7 to 51 (Median: 12). Significant pre- to post-COVID differences in MRP for infected players were only found for high-intensity accelerations and high-intensity decelerations (<i>t</i>-test = 2.11 and 2.13, respectively; <i>p</i> < 0.05, moderate effect size differences), with poorer performance in the post-COVID period. Since a decrease of the MRP as a result of COVID-19 infection was only noted in two variables, we can highlight appropriateness of the applied RTP. However, further adaptations and improvements of the RTP are needed with regard to high-intensity activities.
format	article
author	Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic Jasna Nincevic Sime Versic Sarah Cuschieri Ante Bandalovic Ante Turic Boris Becir Toni Modric Damir Sekulic
author_facet	Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic Jasna Nincevic Sime Versic Sarah Cuschieri Ante Bandalovic Ante Turic Boris Becir Toni Modric Damir Sekulic
author_sort	Anamarija Jurcev Savicevic
title	Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
title_short	Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
title_full	Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
title_fullStr	Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
title_full_unstemmed	Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play
title_sort	performance of professional soccer players before and after covid-19 infection; observational study with an emphasis on graduated return to play
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a31549f14b33409dbda971254e0dc292
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Performance of Professional Soccer Players before and after COVID-19 Infection; Observational Study with an Emphasis on Graduated Return to Play

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