Background

The available literature referring to the return to play (RTP) and performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) has already been comprehensively summarized in team sports such as basketball or American Football. Therefore, in this sense, it is necessary to synthesize evidence relating to the mentioned parameters in soccer players who underwent ACLR.

Objective

The aim of this systematic review was to examine RTP and the performance of soccer players after ACLR.

Methods

Three electronic databases, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, have been comprehensively searched to identify relevant articles. The following inclusion criteria were applied: (1) the sample of respondents consisted of soccer players irrespective of their age, sex, or level of competition; (2) athletes experienced anterior cruciate ligament injury and underwent ACLR; (3) outcomes estimated referred to the RTP, RTP at the preinjury level of competition, RTP time, performance, and career duration of soccer players; (4) studies were written in the English language. The methodological quality of the research was evaluated using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS).

Results

Databases searched yielded a total of 694 studies, of which 17 fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis. These included 3657 soccer players, 2845 males and 812 females, who underwent ACLR and most commonly competed at the elite, national, amateur, and recreational levels. The results obtained indicated that 72% of soccer players successfully RTP and 53% RTP at the preinjury level of participation after ACLR. In addition, recent evidence provided in this literature review demonstrated that mean RTP time was 264 days or 8.7 months. Moreover, the majority of the studies unambiguously suggested that performance related to statistical aspects noticeably deteriorated compared with both the preinjury period and noninjured athletes. The mean career length of soccer players following ACL surgery was approximately between 4 and 5 years.

Conclusion

Although a high percentage of athletes RTP after a relatively short period of absence from the sports field compared with other sports closely related to soccer, ACLR negatively impacts soccer players’ performance and career duration.

中文翻译：

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足球运动员前十字韧带重建后恢复比赛和表现：对最新证据的系统回顾

 背景

关于前十字韧带重建（ACLR）后恢复比赛（RTP）和表现的现有文献已经在篮球或美式橄榄球等团队运动中进行了全面总结。因此，从这个意义上说，有必要综合与接受 ACLR 的足球运动员的上述参数相关的证据。

 客观的

本系统评价的目的是检查 RTP 和足球运动员在 ACLR 后的表现。

 方法

全面检索了 Web of Science、Scopus 和 PubMed 三个电子数据库以识别相关文章。采用以下纳入标准：（1）受访者样本由足球运动员组成，无论其年龄、性别或比赛水平如何； （2）运动员出现前交叉韧带损伤并接受A​​CLR治疗； (3) 参考RTP、比赛受伤前水平的RTP、RTP时间、表现和足球运动员职业生涯持续时间估计的结果； (4) 研究以英语撰写。使用非随机研究方法学指数（MINORS）评估研究的方法学质量。

 结果

数据库检索共检索到 694 项研究，其中 17 项符合纳入标准并纳入最终分析。其中包括 3657 名足球运动员，其中 2845 名男性和 812 名女性，他们接受了 ACLR，并且最常参加精英、国家、业余和娱乐级别的比赛。获得的结果表明，72% 的足球运动员在 ACLR 后成功实现了 RTP，53% 的球员达到了受伤前的参与水平。此外，本文献综述中提供的最新证据表明，平均 RTP 时间为 264 天或 8.7 个月。此外，大多数研究明确表明，与受伤前和未受伤的运动员相比，与统计方面相关的表现明显恶化。 ACL 手术后足球运动员的平均职业生涯长度约为 4 至 5 年。

 结论

尽管与其他与足球密切相关的运动相比，运动员在相对较短的时间缺席赛场后出现 RTP 的比例很高，但 ACLR 对足球运动员的表现和职业生涯持续时间产生负面影响。