[Albion] Injuries. Do you think it will be any better this season?

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I ask the question because there seems to be a few low level injuries going into the season.

Some other the factors which may have contributed are still in place. A heavy playing workload, lots of international commitments, limited time away from football, an apparent high intensity pressing style.

But some aren’t. We have a new manager, new medical staff, no Europa League games.

Plus I guess it’s unlikely we’ll rotate as much as last season, that in theory should have mitigated the problems we had. At the time of writing, I’m not sure we have the squad depth in some positions.

So do you think we’ll continue to get the drip drip of new injuries announced each week? Do you think we’ll be regularly forced into playing players out of position? Do you think we’ll suffer more on average than other teams?

 

[brighton_tom]

You’d hope injuries would be better, or our ability to deal with them, simply because less games this year.

 

[Flounce]

I reckon we’ll get early season injuries to players whose current replacements will be out on loan or sold

Glass half empty on our proposed/rumoured outgoings, if you hadn’t guessed

The above is slightly tongue in cheek btw, I have not shat the bed or think we are doomed!

 

[studio150]

Given we won't be playing a rigid 4231 formation, where the wide forward players are key to our success any injuries will be less of a concern.
Obviously would prefer to have far fewer lengthy injuries.

The main issue for this season is probably not injuries, but overcoming the loss of Gross given the chances he created for others, and how quickly the team becomes confident with the new pattern of play.

 

[Gully Forever]

I don't think injuries will be a problem. But lots of yellow cards/Suspensions. I would rather have high possesion tactics then continually pressing and potentially spend the game fouling the opposition to get the ball back.

 

[Han Solo]

Hard to tell.

Once Graham Potter left, it took about six months before we went into a cycle of continous injury hell.

From the very first day of last season, the team saw a massive drop in its capacity to apply intense pressure throughout the games. Was it a lack of quality? A lack of motivation? With hindsight we can say: probably not so much as a drop in physical fitness. If it sprung from too little or too much training is anyones guess.

Realistically it takes six months of correct and sound training to go from "poor condition" to "good condition". As I see it we won't have a clear picture of what squad fitness will look like until in at least a few months. For now... expect injury trouble.

And of course no matter how good/bad our conditioning is, we're unlikely to be bottom of the injury table given that a large percentage of our squad are not fully grown men, while also being blessed with a technique and sometimes pace that makes opponents eager to kick them down.

Hopefully - probably - it will be at least a bit better than last season.

 

[Hiheidi]

We're going into the season with a few injured players and also those having recently come back from injury - March, Estupinan, Verbruggen, Ferguson, Hinshelwood, Wieffer, Mitoma, Milner.

Plus we have a few that seem to be regularly picking up injuries - Pedro, Igor, Lamptey, Webster and even Enciso.

The players that are (probably) leaving are those that didn't really suffer from injuries last year (Groß, Gilmour, Buonanotte).

 

[medwayseagull reborn]

Hang on I will just get my crystal ball before I answer.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Reckon last season was one-off perfect storm of injuries. This season will be nothing like last season injury-wise

 

[Clive Walker]

club doctor left under a cloud early into last season. Was not replaced with any urgency.

Injuries stacked up and nobody cottoned on.

 

[GT49er]

Reckon last season was one-off perfect storm of injuries. This season will be nothing like last season injury-wise

Yep, 'Perfect storm' was my first thought too. Unlucky break after unlucky break in quick succession - surely can't happen twice.

 

[southstandandy]

Hopefully with fewer games - Yes things will improve.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Yep, 'Perfect storm' was my first thought too. Unlucky break after unlucky break in quick succession - surely can't happen twice.

But if it does, then we probably have to rule out that it's luck!

 

[Hiheidi]

Hopefully with fewer games - Yes things will improve.

We only played one Carabao Cup game last season, so if we got further in that and the FA Cup surely we could still play the same amount of games?

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

We only played one Carabao Cup game last season, so if we got further in that and the FA Cup surely we could still play the same amount of games?

We played 8 in the Europa, plus there's all the travelling and extra intensity which goes with that.

 

[Surf's Up]

I thought that the first thing we did when the season ended was to recruit a dogs bollocks German medical team (in anticipation obvs. of also recruiting our new German manager) so with that + no European competition there shouldn't be anything like the number of injuries we had last year.............

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Nope. Until players start playing less football, every team not just us, like last season, will continue to suffer lots of injuries.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Nope. Until players start playing less football, every team not just us, like last season, will continue to suffer lots of injuries.

I agree with this. Where i'm less clear is whether we will continue to suffer more on average than other teams?

 

[Flounce]

@Bozza posted an interesting theory a few days ago that it was probably not intense training that caused the injuries but more a lack of fitness as the training was more technical over fitness. From what I’ve read the training is much more intense fitness wise under FH.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

We will be playing 5 a side by Christmas.