⚕️ Fitness & Injury — Keep Them on the Pitch

A brilliant squad is only as good as the players available to play. Fitness and injury management isn’t glamorous work, but it’s the kind of quiet discipline that separates organised clubs from those who find themselves fielding a patched-up eleven when it matters most. Every player carries two key values that tell you how they’re doing physically: their Injury Factor (INJ) and their OUT count. Understanding what those mean – and what influences them – is the first step to keeping your squad fit and functional across a long season.

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🏃 1. The Injury Factor (INJ) — What the Number Means

The Injury Factor is a running measure of physical stress that accumulates on each player over the course of a season. You’ll see it listed in your Manager’s Report alongside the rest of the squad data. Think of it as a pressure gauge – the higher it climbs, the more vulnerable that player becomes, and the more their performance starts to suffer. Most managers focus on the number 10, which is the point at which injury becomes an automatic risk. But the truth is that problems start well before that. A player sitting around 5 or above is already under meaningful strain – playing them regularly at that level is asking for trouble, and their performances will reflect it. The table below gives you a practical guide to what each level means and how to respond:

INJ Level	Status	Playing	Training
0–2	✅ Fully fit	No concerns — select freely	Train normally
3–4	⚠️ Mild fatigue	Fine to play, but worth monitoring	Train normally, keep an eye on it
5–7	🔶 Elevated risk	Playing them is risky — expect underperformance & a chance of injury	Light or no training recommended — heavy sessions will slow recovery
8–9	🔴 High risk	Strongly consider resting — performance will be well below par	Avoid training where possible — it will hinder recovery, not help it
10+	🚨 Injury imminent	Automatic injury trigger — do not play	Do not train — recovery must take priority

⚠️ A player grinding through matches at INJ 6 or 7 isn’t just injury-prone — they’re likely costing you results right now. Poor performance and increased injury risk come as a package at that level.

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🛏️ 2. When Injury Strikes — The OUT Counter

When a player is injured, the OUT column in your squad report shows how many game weeks they’ll be unavailable. During that time they can’t be selected, can’t contribute on the pitch, and will need careful handling in training. Injuries vary in severity. A minor knock might keep someone out for a week or two; a serious injury can sideline a key player for far longer. The higher the INJ value at the point of injury, the more likely the outcome lands at the serious end of the scale.

OUT Value	What It Means
0	Fit and available to play
1–2	Minor injury — back soon
3–5	Moderate injury — plan around their absence
6+	Serious injury — significant squad disruption

Each game week that passes ticks the OUT counter down by one. There’s no way to rush standard recovery – but how you manage a player during that period does matter. Training an injured player, particularly one with an INJ above 5, is generally not a good idea. You might see some small benefit, but you’re more likely to slow down their recovery than speed it up. Rest is usually the right call.

💡 When a player is out injured, the temptation is to keep them ticking over with light training. Resist it if their INJ is still elevated. Let the body recover first.

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💉 3. The Physiotherapist — Your Recovery Asset

The Physiotherapist (PHY) is one of the five non-playing member slots available to your club. Their job is exactly what you’d expect: to support injured players and help reduce recovery time. With a Physiotherapist in place, injured players can recover faster than they would otherwise. This isn’t a miracle cure, but across the course of a 30-week season, faster recovery matters more than you’d think – especially when it’s a key player who gets hurt at a crucial point in the campaign.

💡 A Physiotherapist won’t stop injuries happening, but they can meaningfully shorten the time a player is out. Over a long season, that time adds up.

If you don’t yet have a Physiotherapist, it’s worth weighing up your five NPM slots carefully. See Hint Sheet #9 – Non-Playing Members for a full breakdown of all five roles and how to prioritise them.

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📋 4. Training Load — The Weekly Balancing Act

Training is one of the main drivers of Injury Factor accumulation. Your squad has a budget of 25 training hours per week, and every session you assign adds physical load. Push too hard week after week, and INJ values will creep upward across the squad. The trick is finding the balance between developing your players and not running them into the ground. There are also built-in reductions to the training budget in certain weeks:

Situation	Training Reduction
Friendly match week	−5 hours available
Cup match week	−10 hours available
Squad holiday ordered	−15 hours available

Ordering a squad holiday is one of the more direct tools available for bringing Injury Factors down across the squad. It’s not something you’ll want to do every week given the impact on training time, but at the right moment – when several players are nudging that 5–7 range – it can head off a crisis before it develops. The Fitness Coach (FIT) non-playing member also contributes to managing the physical condition of the squad over time. Another reason the five NPM slots deserve careful thought.

🔍 Check the INJ column in your Manager’s Report every week. A gradual rise across multiple players is a warning sign. Act before they hit 5, not after.

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🧠 5. Squad Depth — The Practical Safety Net

No amount of careful management will prevent injuries entirely. The game reflects the reality of football – players get hurt, and it’s rarely at a convenient moment. The most reliable protection against injury disruption is a squad with genuine depth.

• Your squad can hold up to 25 players. Filling it out gives you cover in every position.
• The minimum positional requirements (2 GKs, 4 each in defence, midfield and attack) are a floor, not a target. Clubs that run lean pay the price when injuries stack up.
• Players who are injured still occupy a squad slot — they just can’t be selected.
• Age plays a role in injury susceptibility. Older players may need more careful handling. See Hint Sheet #7 – Age for more on that.

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