According to findings published on Tuesday in the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index, Chelsea experienced a 44 per cent rise in injuries between June and October, compared with the same period last year. The report noted that the Premier League club recorded 23 injuries during that window, the highest among the nine European clubs from top leagues that competed in the tournament.
The expanded Club World Cup, staged in the United States in June and July, marked a significant shift in FIFA’s club competition format, increasing the number of teams from seven to 32. The decision drew strong opposition when it was confirmed in 2023, with players’ unions warning that an already congested calendar would heighten the risk of physical and mental burnout. Despite the criticism, FIFA proceeded with the tournament.
Chelsea ultimately won the inaugural expanded competition, lifting the trophy at MetLife Stadium after a ceremony attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, and earning prize money estimated at around $125 million. However, the Injury Index highlighted that the club’s post-tournament injury tally included key players such as Cole Palmer and represented a notable year-on-year increase.
The findings come at a time when elite football calendars are becoming increasingly crowded, with major competitions such as the Champions League and the World Cup also expanding in size. Maheta Molango, chief executive of the English Players Football Association, said the demands placed on players were becoming unsustainable.
“Players are being pushed to their limits and exposed to an extreme schedule at a younger and younger age,” Molango said. “The current calendar makes no sense for players, fans or clubs.”
Despite Chelsea’s spike, the report found that the overall impact of the expanded Club World Cup on injury levels across participating clubs has so far been limited. The Injury Index, produced by global insurance firm Howden, recorded a total of 146 injuries between June and October among the nine clubs from Europe’s top five leagues—England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France—down from 174 during the same period last year.
From August to October, those teams sustained 121 injuries, the lowest total for that three-month span in the past six editions of the Index. Manchester City recorded 22 injuries in the same post-tournament period, the highest among the participating European clubs apart from Chelsea.
While the data suggests a short-term decline in overall injuries, the authors of the report cautioned against drawing firm conclusions at this stage. The findings only cover the period up to October, and past trends indicate that the physical toll of summer tournaments often becomes more apparent later in the season.
“In principle you would expect this increased workload to lead to an increase in the number of injuries sustained, as well as potentially greater injury severity,” the report noted, adding that current figures point to only a minimal overall impact so far.
James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden, said the full effects are likely to emerge in the months ahead. “We would expect to see the impact spike in the November to February period,” he said. “Historically, that’s when the consequences of summer tournaments tend to show.”
Chelsea, which played 64 matches across the 2024–25 season, may therefore offer an early indication of the pressures created by an expanding global football calendar, as debate continues over how much strain elite players can realistically absorb.