## 4 Discussion  
This study examined the effect of two consecutive official league field hockey matches played within 24 h on lower-limb risk factors (strength, ROM, RPE) in female field hockey players. The main findings were that no differences between the identified risk factors, except for an increase in the isometric knee flexion strength in the non-dominant limb 48 h after the second competitive match and increased CMJ height over the matches. No differences in isometric knee flexion strength were reported in the dominant leg; however, strength increases were reported in the non-dominant limb 48 h after the 2 nd match (except for a single player, individual data values are plotted in Figure 2). This could be either due to a learning effect by the players or due to an absence of fatigue when performing these tests. In both cases, it could be argued that hamstring muscles do not accumulate excessive fatigue between matches, given that the distances covered at very high intensities and sprint speeds are low (Table 1) when compared to distances covered in other intermittent sports such as soccer [44], where soccer players cover greater distances at high intensities and sprint speeds when compared to field hockey players [4]. It has been shown in previous research that the hamstring muscles are most active at these high speeds [45], not having a predominant role at lower speeds [46]. In a previous study involving consecutive soccer matches, a decrease in hamstring strength was observed [32]. It is important to consider that the GPS-measured distances reported in this study are similar to values reported by [PERSON] et al. [4] in 155 players, although they measured data over matches consisting of two halves of thirty-five minutes (as per the older rules), compared to four quarters of fifteen minutes in this study. The values were slightly lower than those reported by [PERSON] et al. [3] (9.99 m at >19 km/h and 0.87 at >23 km/h in match 1, 8.08 m at >19 km/h, and 0.91 m at >23 km/h in match 2), but this might be  
Figure 4: Mean and individual variations in the countermovement jump height at the different tests. * represents a significant difference at \(p\) < 0.05, and ** represents a significant difference at \(p\) < 0.001.  
explained due to [PERSON] et al. [3] studying hockey male players, while female players participated in this study [47]. There appears to be lower fatigue noted in the hamstring muscles as evidenced by the lack of significant differences between the values obtained in the straight leg raise test for either limb (Figure 3). A limited range of motion (ROM) has been considered a relevant risk factor for injuries in intermittent team sports in the lower limb [22]. However, an important characteristic of field hockey is the trunk flexion employed by the players when dribbling, passing, or shooting the ball with the stick, which could also influence the stretch and range of motion on the hamstrings. These results agree with a similar protocol carried out in tennis [48], which compared the hip range of motion before and after a single match. Similarly, no differences were obtained in the ankle range of motion for both the dominant leg and the non-dominant leg, a result that coincides with those of [PERSON] et al. [25] where the ankle dorsiflexion was not affected by this congested period of two matches [28]. These results suggest that the potential risk factors for hamstring injuries are not affected by playing two consecutive field hockey games. Although this might be in line with research recently published in soccer [49], one must remember that the majority of the distances run by the players has been at low and walking intensities, and the distances covered at medium or high instances are much smaller compared to soccer. Additionally, it is worth mentioning one of the characteristics of field hockey: a match is played over four quarters of fifteen minutes with rolling substitutions, allowing the players to recover when substituted.