@Article{Galiano2026,
journal="Biology of Sport",
issn="0860-021X",
year="2026",
title="Deceleration and eccentric training for muscle damage protection and recovery in football: A narrative review with practical applications",
abstract=" In modern football, the increase in match frequency, high-speed running, and intense accelerations and decelerations leads to a higher mechanical load to which players are exposed, thereby increasing their risk of tissue damage and injury. High-intensity decelerations occur more frequently than equivalent intensity accelerations and can impose substantially higher mechanical demands. These intense decelerations involve eccentric muscle contractions, which can lead to muscle damage, fatigue, and cumulative microtrauma in soft tissues. Since player availability remains a key to team success, training may need to consider enhancing athletes’ ability to dissipate braking loads, build musculoskeletal strength, and ensure regular exposure to high-intensity decelerations. Due to their medium- and long-term effects, including neuromuscular adaptations and the ‘repeated bout effect’ (RBE), eccentric exercise plays a  critical role in attenuating muscle damage from highintensity decelerations. Furthermore, it has been proposed that players may potentially benefit from regular exposure to decelerations to improve their tolerance to the mechanical demands experienced during competition. However, despite their significance, adaptations from eccentric training through deceleration drills have not been thoroughly investigated, and there is limited research on the potential RBE from deceleration training in football. If eccentric and deceleration training are not properly prescribed, they can reduce physical readiness for future training, impair training quality and adaptation, and increase injury risk. In this article, we present a narrative review and provide practical, science-based considerations for sports science practitioners on eccentric and decelerative training, offering insights into recent developments in potential injury mitigation and physical development strategies for football. ",
author="Galiano, Carlos
and Harper, Damian
and Nakamura, Fábio
and Asian-Clemente, Jose A.",
pages="259--272",
doi="10.5114/biolsport.2027.165698",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2027.165698"
}