# Assessment of Injury Risk in Professional Soccer Players: A Long-Term Study
## 5 Practical Applications  
The comparison of all four models (ACWR4, ACWR3, ACWR2, ACWR1) in this study provided evidence suggesting a strong relationship with the occurrence of non-contact injuries in professional soccer players. Among them, the ACWR4 and ACWR3 models appeared to be the most critical indicators, as greater deviations across most variables were observed, while the ACWR1 and ACWR2 models showed a clear trend toward injury risk. Specifically, in the four-week analysis (ACWR4) prior to injury, it was found that, aside from total distance, increased load across all high-intensity categories contributed to the occurrence of non-contact injuries. For the three-week analysis (ACWR3), a statistically significant difference in the ACWR index was detected for Total Distance (km), Distance in the 15-20 km/h range, Distance above 25 km/h, Accelerations (>2.5 m/s\({}^{2}\)), and Decelerations (>2.5 m/s\({}^{2}\)). Similarly, in the two-week analysis (ACWR2), significant differences were found for Distance in the 15-20 km/h and >25 km/h speed ranges. Regarding the one-week model (ACWR1), statistically significant differences were observed in Distance in the 15-20 km/h range, Distance above 25 km/h, and Accelerations (>2.5 m/s\({}^{2}\)). The ratios most commonly associated with non-contact injuries often approached or exceeded 1.3. Furthermore, the 25-30 km/h speed range emerged as particularly important, especially when thresholds were exceeded during four-week monitoring periods. Finally, it was noted that across at least two of the six categories analyzed (Total Distance, running speeds of 15-20 km/h, 20-25 km/h, 25-30 km/h, accelerations > 2.5 m/s\({}^{2}\), and Decelerations > 2.5 m/s\({}^{2}\)), injured soccer players consistently registered high loads during the week in which their injury occurred. Also, the comparison and analysis of data between soccer players from the two research groups who had the same characteristics (weeks, playing position, tactics and age), was crucial, as clearer conclusions were drawn about the real causes that led a soccer player to injury, compared to a soccer player who did not have an injury, evaluating a situation with many similarities. Regarding the ACWR limits that positively or negatively affect an injury, data were presented where football players who were not injured for all parameters cumulatively were at 1.06 and those who were injured were at 1.18. More specifically, in the four weeks before the event, the football players who were injured were cumulatively at 1.32, while those who were not injured were at 1.06. In the three weeks before the event, the injured were at 1.17 and the non-injured were at 1.06. In the two weeks before an injury, the distance between the two groups decreased to 1.14 for the injured and 1.07 for the healthy athletes, while at one week it was at 1.10 for the injured and 1.03 for the non-injured. According to the above data, it is understood that the analysis should be performed each week separately because the limits for avoiding an injury are different for each of them. From the above presented findings, it appears that personnel dealing with fitness and injury prevention among professional soccer players should take into account the indicators of all four weeks before an injury. In addition, because the workload of soccer players does not consist only of the training conducted on the field, future research should also include the soccer player's workload as well as their training in the gym. The study was conceptualized by [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON], who also offered essential feedback on the manuscript. [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] contributed to the study and provided critical review of the manuscript. [PERSON] was responsible for data collection, processing, analysis, and drafting the initial version. All authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed on the order of authorship. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.