Premier League: Official Explains Link Between VAR and Player Injuries

• At least 30 players will miss Premier League action this weekend due to injuries
• A PFA’s chief executive has now claimed this could be linked to the VAR
• He believes the stoppages in play could be a huge contributing factor to hamstring injuries

A PFA chief has come up with an interesting hypothesis on why so many players are suffering injuries in the Premier League, and it all has to do with the VAR.

Maheta Molango, head of the players’ union, strongly believes there is an increased risk of player sustaining muscle injuries due to the lengthy delays during matches.

His comments came at the back of the Chelsea clash against Tottenham Hotspur, where the game was stopped for seven minutes as VAR checked three separate incidents. That stoppage in play lasted seven minutes on Monday, November 6.

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“Intuitively I would say yes — that the stoppages like we saw on Monday will lead to injuries because players cooled down and then have to sprint straight away,” Molango observed, as cited on The Mirror.

“Player welfare should be a big issue. But we are killing the product at the moment and that should be everybody’s biggest fear.

Although still speculative, Molango wants “to speak about facts and figures and clear evidence, instead of just a feeling”. He is thus of the idea that a group of experts to provide data to ascertain his theory.

With more than 30 players missing from Premier League action this weekend because of hamstring issues alone, the muscle group now makes up a quarter of all injuries.

According to Molango, additional time was unsustainable and a sign that football was “sleepwalking into disaster”.

Key players with hamstring injuries

The latest Premier League star to suffer a hamstring setback was Manchester United’s Casemiro, and according to The Independent, Erik ten Hag does not expect him back until after Christmas.

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Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and Chelsea left back Ben Chilwell are other Premier League stars that have struggled with hamstring injuries this season.

Peter Drury on how Messi made him cry

Sports Brief also reported on how Lionel Messi left Peter Drury in tears with his World Cup success.

Before his global triumph in the Middle East, Messi had faced disappointment with Argentina at the World Cup final in 2014 and had grappled with the weight of enormous expectations on the international stage since his debut as a teenager.

However, on a night filled with drama and heightened emotions, Messi, the former Barcelona and PSG star, finally achieved World Cup glory.