@Article{Manchón-Davó2026,
journal="Biology of Sport",
issn="0860-021X",
year="2026",
title="Match running performance upon return to play in professional male LaLiga football players following anterior cruciate ligament rupture",
abstract="This study aimed to investigate the impact of an anterior cruciate ligament rupture on the level of competition and match running performance over the following three seasons after return-to-play in professional male football players. Fifty-one football players from LaLiga	who	sustained	a complete	anterior	cruciate	ligament	rupture were retrospectively followed over the three seasons after their return-to-play. Their level of competition and match running performance metrics were obtained via Mediacoach® and subsequently compared across different time points: (1) PRE (season before injury); (2) INJ (season of the anterior cruciate ligament rupture); and	(3)	POST1,	(4)	POST2,	and	(5)	POST3 (first,	second,	and	third	seasons	after	returning-to-play).	Outcomes	were	analysed	overall,	by	field	position	and	by	age	group	(≤ 25 and > 25 years).	By	the	POST3 season	following	the	anterior	cruciate	ligament	injury,	35 of	the	51 players	(68.5%)	were	still	competing	in	one	of	the	top	five	UEFA	leagues	(34 in	LaLiga and	1 in	another	top-five	league),	11 (21.6%)	were	playing	in	lower-tier	leagues,	and	5 (9.8%)	had	retired. Maximum	running	speed	decreased	at	POST1 and	POST2 (p   25 years	experienced	a significant	decrease	in	their	maximum	running	speed	during	POST2 and	POST3 (p   25 years	were	more	vulnerable	to	sustain	performance losses.",
author="Manchón-Davó, Manuel
and Miralles-Iborra, Aarón
and Coso, Juan
and Vera-Garcia, Francisco
and Rondón-Espinosa, Heidy
and Juan-Recio, Casto
and González-Rodenas, Joaquín
and López del Campo, Roberto
and Resta, Ricardo
and Moreno-Pérez, Víctor",
pages="1161--1180",
doi="10.5114/biolsport.2026.160857",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.160857"
}