This study aimed to analyze the types of sports injuries and rehabilitation characteristics of university soccer players, and to investigate the impact of these injuries on performance. For this purpose, 155 university soccer players were studied, examining injury types during practice and competition, treatment methods, recovery periods, and effects on performance.
The results showed that tackling had the highest injury rate in both practice (41.3%) and competition (45.2%) situations. Regarding treatment methods, professional medical care (43.9%) was most preferred, with particularly high rates for severe injuries such as cartilage tears (83.3%) and bone fractures (85.7%). Recovery periods varied significantly depending on the type of injury (p<.001), with minor injuries requiring up to 2 weeks and severe injuries taking over 6 months to heal. The impact on performance differed by situation, with running (61.3%) and tackling (62.5%) having the most negative effects during practice, while shooting (58.8%) and tackling (44.3%) were most detrimental during competitions.
Based on these findings, it appears necessary to introduce systematic skill training programs for high-risk movements for university soccer players, and to establish and educate standardized treatment and rehabilitation protocols according to injury severity. Lastly, the results suggest the need to build a professional conditioning system for players' performance recovery and to strengthen education on appropriate initial responses to minor injuries.
The limitations of this study include the inability to track long-term performance changes after injury due to the cross-sectional research design, and data collection based on players' subjective responses. Future research should longitudinally analyze the performance recovery process after injury through a longitudinal study design and conduct research using objective performance indicators.